Another superstar is set to leave Europe for the Saudi Pro League.
And this time, it is one of the biggest names in football over the past decade. That man is Neymar, with the Brazilian sensation agreeing to join Saudi giants Al Hilal this summer.
In fact, as revealed by the Athletic, the former Barcelona attacker has already begun his medical ahead of signing a two-year deal for the Riyadh heavyweights.
According to CBS Sports, Al-Za'eem will cough up a whopping $98M for the Selecao sensation, which is more than double the initial $47M they intended on paying for the 31-year-old.
Furthermore, the former Santos prodigy will pocket roughly $219M per year in total during his stay in Riyadh, which would put him in the same region as Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of earnings.
Neymar was initially holding out on a move to another European club, with the attacker eyeing a return to Barcelona. However, nothing materialized for the winger.
PSG, meanwhile, will be happy with this deal as it was not only the player who wanted out. The French champions were keen on getting Neymar's wages off the book and had informed him that he was not part of their plans under Luis Enrique.
Al Hilal, on the other hand, paid more than they would have preferred but have finally landed the marquee signing they were yearning for. The Saudi Pro League's most successful club missed out on Lionel Messi, who opted to join Inter Miami, and had their one-year offer for Kylian Mbappe rejected.
The league's broadcasters, particularly DAZN and Fox, will celebrate this deal as well after securing broadcasting rights for the Saudi top flight.
Fox will bring English and Spanish coverage to the United States via Fox Sports and Fox Deportes, as per Sport Business. DAZN, meanwhile, will stream three league games per week for the next two seasons for audiences in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Canada.
