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Brazilian superstar Neymar has officially joined Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in a deal worth £86m.
Neymar departs the French champions after six seasons at Parc des Princes, during which time he helped PSG to five Ligue 1 titles and three Coupe de France trophies.
However, the 31-year-old forward failed to deliver a Champions League to the Paris club, coming closest in 2020 when Thomas Tuchel’s side lost in the final to Bayern Munich.
He departs with a record of 118 goals and 77 assists in 173 games for the French side, who signed him in a record-breaking £200m deal from Barcelona in 2017.
Al Hilal attempted to lure both Mbappe and Messi to Saudi Arabia earlier in the transfer window, offering the former £258m to swap the French capital for the Middle East.
Neymar is the latest high profile star to move to Saudi after the likes of Ruben Neves, Jordan Henderson, Sadio and Robert Firmino. Cristiano Ronaldo is also in the country with Al Nassr.
Neymar will earn a whopping £130m a year with Al Hilal. The Brazilian hero will reportedly be paid £430,000 for every post on his Instagram account that promotes the country, plus a £70,000 bonus for every match the team wins.
“It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world,” said Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president and CEO of Paris Saint-Germain.
Neymar continues a remarkable summer spending spree by Saudi clubs, underlining the league’s ambition to be one of the top competitions in the world in the next few years.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have all moved to Saudi Arabia.
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United in January.
After Riyad Mahez left Manchester City to join Al-Ahli in July, Pep Guardiola said the Saudi league’s financial muscle has “changed the market”.
“A few months ago when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was the only one to go, no-one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league,” the City manager said.
“In the future there will be more and that’s why clubs need to be aware of what is happening.
“I don’t know how long they will sustain it, but the feeling is that they will stay. The players want to take this experience to play in that league and they are able to do it.”