Brazilian superstar Neymar is the most expensive footballer of all time, thanks to his eye-watering $232 million move from Barcelona to Qatar-backed Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2017.
The 32-year-old can plausibly add “the most expensive waste of money in football transfer history” to the earlier accolade after seeing his lucrative contract with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal effectively ripped up this week.
The numbers involved in Neymar’s fleeting stint in Saudi Arabia are mind-boggling.
The forward signed from PSG in August 2023 for a reported $98 million fee. He agreed a three-year contract worth $104 million per year and pocketed an estimated $156 million during his 18-month spell at the Kingdom Arena – almost three times the GDP of Tuvalu in the South Pacific.
But here’s the kicker. Beset by injuries, Neymar only played seven games for his Saudi employers.
He scored a solitary goal during his time in the blue shirt in a 3-0 win over Nassaji Mazandaran, in Tehran back in October 2023. He added three assists to that. This works out at around $35 million per appearance.
And then there are the incentives. It is reported that he earned £70,000 ($83,500) for each team victory. Al Hilal won the league in the 2023-24 season with 31 wins. In the current season, they’ve won 14 matches.
A quick calculation puts that in the region of $1.1 million.
Also consider a reported £430,000 for every post published on his social networks promoting Saudi Arabia.
Neymar has more than 64 million followers on social media platform X and 228 million on Instagram. A look at his Instagram page reveals several posts and pictures championing the kingdom’s successful World Cup 2034 bid, as well as shots of the player in his Al Hilal kit.
This is obviously difficult to price on in terms of value back to Saudi Arabia.
But there is no doubt that the depth of an athlete’s social media audience can help sports organisations attract more sponsorship, brand endorsements and increase its fan base.
However, it is highly doubtful that Al Hilal and the wider Saudi Premier League (SPL) got their money’s worth from this alone.
Regardless, as the striker departs for Santos in his home country, everything appears to have ended amicably.
A statement on Tuesday said: “The club expresses its thanks and appreciation to Neymar for what he has provided throughout his career at Al Hilal, and wishes the player success in his career.”
Neymar was bought during a time of record spending from SPL clubs. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane, Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic all swapped the leagues of Europe for the riches of the Gulf.
Despite a tough six years at PSG – Neymar still won five Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de Frances and two Coupe de la Ligues – when prices were hugely inflated (and continue to be), $98 million for Brazil’s all-time record goalscorer could have been viewed as a bargain.
However with every purchase comes an element of risk and unfortunately Neymar – a former Ballon d’Or winner – succumbed to an anterior cruciate ligament injury just months into his new Saudi adventure while on international duty, and never really recovered.
His most recent appearance for Al Hilal came back in November.
At 32, Neymar still has plenty of football left to play. As the Portuguese player Ronaldo approaches his 40th birthday next month, he has scored 20 goals in 23 club games in all competitions for Al Nassr this season as of January 21.
The transfer could be a sobering economic lesson for Saudi Arabia, but rumours of a €300 million bid for Real Madrid’s superstar winger Vinicius Junior this week suggest otherwise.
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