Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal considering early termination of Neymar’s contract due to dissatisfaction with the Brazilian forward.
Neymar is one of the most expensive football players in the world despite changing clubs three times. According to Transfermarkt, Barcelona spent 88 million euros to acquire the Brazilian forward from Santos. Later, PSG paid 222 million euros as the buyout fee to release Neymar from his contract with Barcelona in 2017.
Most recently, Al Hilal decided to spend 90 million euros to repurchase this player from the Parisian team in August 2023. However, things did not unfold as smoothly as the Saudi Arabian “giants” had hoped. The Brazilian forward only managed to play… 5 matches in 8 months (3 matches in the Saudi Pro League, 2 matches in the AFC Champions League).
The player continued to suffer from pain upon joining and had to undergo treatment for half a month before sustaining a serious injury in October of last year. According to Neymar’s treating physician, the 32-year-old forward will need to rest until August 2024. This means that the player has prematurely ended the season and has missed the Copa America as well.
This dissatisfaction from Al Hilal stems from the fact that despite investing a large transfer fee and offering a hefty salary, they have received too little in return. According to the Saudi Arabian news outlet Al Weeam, this is one of the reasons why the club is considering terminating Neymar’s contract early!
The “round” image of Neymar just a few weeks after returning to Brazil for injury recovery caused quite a stir.
The source also revealed two other reasons that have led Al Hilal to contemplate this decision. Firstly, the team has been performing well even without Neymar. They have a streak of 28 consecutive wins across all competitions, leading the Saudi Pro League, advancing to the semifinals of the AFC Champions League in the West Asia region, and performing well in the Saudi Arabian King’s Cup and the Saudi Arabian Super Cup.
With Neymar’s presence, Al Hilal has been forced to allocate one of their foreign player slots to him, potentially disrupting the team’s balance. Secondly, Neymar’s attitude has been problematic. He has spent most of his time in Brazil during his injury recovery. While he did return to Al Hilal’s training center last month, he went back to Brazil citing the need for a “medical examination.”
Al Hilal’s leadership has been reportedly displeased with Neymar’s previous image of being out of shape. The forward has a reputation for partying, which could directly impact his recovery process. Therefore, the club is not only abandoning the idea of extending his contract but also considering an early termination of the agreement with the former Barcelona star. Currently, their contract extends until the summer of 2025.
