Reticent at first, Neymar ends up convinced that Saudi Arabia is the only option – 08/14/2023 – Sport

Neymar had to be convinced that playing in Saudi Arabia is a good option. According to two people connected to the player’s family, the striker of the Brazilian national team found it strange to leave Europe now. Nor was it his wish. The golden dream was to return to Barcelona, ​​where he played between 2013 and 2017 and had the period he considers the happiest of his career.

He received the opposite view from his father and businessmen involved in the negotiation. One of them was the Israeli Pini Zahavi, the same one who had already helped to oil another transfer that, at first, the Brazilian did not want: leaving Barcelona to defend Paris Saint-Germain six years ago. It is still the most expensive football transaction of all time: 222 million euros (R$ 1.2 billion at current exchange rates).

At the time, he swayed with requests from his former Spain teammates, especially Argentine Lionel Messi, to stay. But he had already given his word and opened his pockets to the royal family of Qatar, which controls the holding company that runs the Parisian team.

The scenario painted for the player this time is that this was the only viable way to get something he wanted for at least two years: getting rid of PSG, with whom he had a contract until 2027. He made a lot of money in France. Salaries alone amounted to around 290 million euros (R$ 1.55 billion in today’s money).

For each advertising campaign with global appeal, he pocketed just over 1 million euros (R$ 5.40 million).

The transfer to Arabia, close to being completed, has not yet been made official.

The argument presented to him was first published by the French L’Equipe. He should go to Al Hilal, stay for two years and then leave, for free, at 33, to return to Europe and have a top-level season before the 2026 World Cup, his last chance to win the tournament with the national team. Brazilian.

In his last statement on the subject, he said he was not sure of the will to play another World Cup, still traumatized by the fall in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Qatar, in 2022, against Croatia. But there is no one close to him who believes in the possibility of not being on the field if he is physically well in three years.

There is also an assessment that demands in Saudi Arabia will be lower. His time in Paris was marred by injuries, as well as off-field problems, fan protests and defeats in decisive stages of the Champions League.

There is also the financial attraction. There are 320 million euros for the two seasons of the contract (R$ 1.7 billion today).

It is not a new argument. It was the same presented to Cristiano Ronaldo to sign with Al Nassr. But it did not work. The Portuguese was told he could spend six months or a year in the country and then return to the Champions League, which was his biggest wish. The club is owned by the same as Newcastle-ING, classified to the main European competition in 2024.

Neymar serves as yet another name for the Arab nation’s sportswashing project, which spends billions through football to improve its image and increase geopolitical influence. It is a strategy already put into practice by the United Arab Emirates, owner of the current European champion Manchester City, and PSG itself, with Qatar.

Cristiano Ronaldo has the highest salary in world football. It is about US$ 200 million per year (R$ 1 billion). Saudi teams have made several big-name and expensive signings to boost their league’s image and football. Karim Benzema has almost the same salaries as Ronaldo, with around US$ 180 million per season (R$ 970 million).

Nobody admits that the transfers happened for the money and that shouldn’t happen with Neymar. Ronaldo spoke about the project. Benzema stated that, as a Muslim, he wanted to live in an Islamic country.

To have Messi, the same Al Hilal and Al Ittihad offered around US$ 400 million a year (R$ 2 billion). The Argentine preferred Inter Miami, in the MLS.

If the monetary attraction is undeniable –the proposal that Al Hilal made would not be matched by any other team in the world–, the question goes to the sporting aspect. Ronaldo was 38 years old when he decided to go to Saudi Arabia. He had already been voted best in the world five times, the same number of Champions titles. Benzema, 35, is the current holder of France Football’s Ballon d’Or and has won the top club title four times.

Messi also left European football at 35, but after being voted the best on the planet for the seventh time and after having conquered the Holy Grail of his career: lifting the world cup with the Argentine national team.

Neymar is 31 years old. He won the 2015 Champions League with Barcelona. When he left Santos in 2013, the plan was, of course, to make a lot of money, but also to conquer the world, to be the greatest. In the midst of discussions, sometimes heated, with the leaders of Vila Belmiro to be negotiated with Spanish football, in 2013, the striker’s father made it clear that the star had to leave to fulfill his destiny.