Neymar transfer: Al-Hilal agree fee with PSG to sign Brazil attacker

Saudi Arabian football club Al-Hilal have agreed a blockbuster deal to sign the world’s most expensive footballer Neymar Jr from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Brazilian striker is the latest in a long line of footballers to make the move from Europe to the Middle East and if the transfer is successful he will link up with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Malcolm and Sergej Milkinkovic-Savic.

Neymar is Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer and a former Champions League winner at Barcelona. 

He joined PSG for a world record fee of £200m back in 2017, which remains the most expensive transfer in football history.

But why is Neymar leaving PSG this summer and how much are Al-Hilal paying for the footballer?

Here is everything you need to know.

Why is Neymar leaving PSG?

Neymar’s £200m move to PSG sent shockwaves around the footballing world in the summer of 2017.

Since arriving in the French capital, Neymar has scored over 100 goals for the club and he has lifted four Ligue 1 titles and six domestic cups.

He was also voted the Ligue 1 Player of the Year in his debut campaign.

However, despite this initial success, Neymar has struggled to live up to the expectations of some sections of the fanbase. This is mainly due to PSG’s failure to deliver a major honour in the Champions League.

Neymar was reunited with former manager Luis Enrique this summer, but the incoming coach does not view the Brazilian as part of his long term plans, according to reports.

It is also believed that PSG’s philosophy is now centred on building a younger homegrown team rather than a group of galacticos as we have seen in the past.

The average age of half of the squad is now 23, which is a huge drop from previous years after the departure of players such as Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos and Mauro Icardi.

How much will Neymar cost Al-Hilal?

PSG are expected to receive a figure of around £86.3m for Neymar this summer, which is less than half of the £200m they spent in 2017.

Sky Sports news journalist Kaveh Solhekol also revealed that Neymar is expected to earn a wage of around £129.4m a year at PSG, which is around six times the figure he was earning in the French capital.

Al-Hilal have made headlines throughout the summer transfer window and they previously had a world record offer of £258m accepted for fellow PSG star Kylian Mbappe.

However, the Frenchman insisted he would not leave PSG this summer, despite their desire to sell him in the final year of his contract.