Saudi Pro League (SPL) is set to recruit one of the most popular stars in soccer. Considering there are no hiccups, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) ace Neymar will join Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia, with the attacker set to travel to Saudi this week.
Neymar could earn over $175 million/year at Al-Hilal
At present, Neymar is one of the highest-paid players in Europe. According to Capology, the former Barcelona superstar is on a $1.187 million/week contract in the French capital. He still has a couple of years remaining on his PSG deal (June 2025).
The Brazil ace was seemingly happy to remain in Paris, but the club had long been looking for ways to offload him. As per multiple reports, Saudi Arabian giants Al-Hilal have given PSG a way out, agreeing to pay the Parisians’ asking price for the forward. As per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, PSG will receive a little less than €100 million ($109.47 million) for their No. 10 this summer.
Neymar is set to undergo medical tests on Monday (August 14) and could be unveiled as Al-Hilal’s newest signing on Wednesday itself (August 16).
Once the deal goes through, the former Santos ace will become one of the best-paid players in the history of soccer. If Globo Esporte’s report is to be believed, Neymar will join Al-Hilal on a two-year deal, worth a total of $350.31 million. He would earn a staggering $175.15 million/year during his Saudi stay.
🚨🇧🇷| JUST IN: Neymar will be an Al-Hilal player and undergo medical tests this Monday, he will receive a total salary of € 320M for two seasons. Neymar’s presentation with Al-Hilal is scheduled for Wednesday. @geglobo pic.twitter.com/NX5sLcOLRC
— PSG Report (@PSG_Report) August 14, 2023
Neymar’s salary compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema
Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema are the two highest-paid players in Saudi Arabia right now. According to 90min, the five-time Ballon d’or winner earns around a whopping $224.91 million/year at Al-Nassr, which makes him the highest-paid player in sporting history.
In number two, we have Real Madrid legend and Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, who takes home a staggering $219.41 million/year. If Neymar does sign the aforementioned $175.15 million/year contract, he would become the third-best paid player in Saudi Arabia.
According to French outlet L’Equipe, Neymar’s total salary could eclipse that of Ronaldo. However, it is not known how the 31-year-old would go about bridging the near $50 million/year gap.