RIYADH: Brazilian star winger Neymar shed some light on his decision to move to the Saudi Pro League with a touch of sarcasm.
The Brazilian wizard spent six years with Ligue 1 champions and racked up 118 goals in 173 matches, making him Paris Saint-Germain’s fourth-all-time highest scorer. He joined for a record-breaking fee of €222 million transfer fee from FC Barcelona in 2017.
Al Hilal shelled out €90 million to acquire his services and now he has joined the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, Ruben Neves and many more top European players.
“I assure you that soccer there [in Saudi Arabia] is the same. The ball is round, there’s a goal, and if you look at the names that have gone to the Saudi league… I don’t know whether it is better than the French league or not. I want to win titles for Al-Hilal, my head won’t change much,” Neymar said as quoted from Goal.com.
“Everyone said the same when I went to France [about competitiveness], and it was the place I was hit the most in my life. I am sure that it won’t be easy to win the Saudi championship, other teams got stronger, have famous players. It will be very interesting and I am sure you will be watching,” Neymar added.
Neymar is yet to make his debut for the Saudi club as he continues to recover from a knock. He has been named in Brazil’s squad for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and is a goal shy from breaking Pele’s all-time scoring record for the national team.
The Brazilian could make an appearance in India after the Indian Super League (ISL) side Mumbai City FC drew alongside Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal, Iran’s Nassaji Mazandaran and Uzbekistan’s PFC Navbahor Namangan in Group D of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League 2023-24. (ANI)