Neymar on his way to Saudi Arabia?
L'Equipe reported new information on Wednesday about the potential departure of Neymar Jr from PSG this summer, revealing recent interest from Saudi Arabian teams in the Brazil international.
Specifically, the outlet named Al-Hilal as the club that has shown a strong inclination to make a substantial investment in the 31-year-old Brazilian this summer.
Neymar is currently under contract at PSG through 2027, but the Saudi club's leadership has "initiated communication with Neymar's entourage." It's believed the initial contacts happened "some time ago," and that the Saudi efforts "have gained momentum" of late.
While Neymar wants to at least explore an exit from Paris as soon as this summer, his preference leans toward joining a prominent European club and, if possible, returning to Barcelona.
With Barcelona pretty much out of the picture because of their ongoing financial issues, though, Neymar will probably need to move to either a Premier League team (Chelsea has been linked) or to Saudi Arabia.
That's because of his long-term deal with PSG and his humongous salary of €30m per year complicating things a bit, as Neymar is straight refusing to lower his wages and/or to sign any type of short-term deal elsewhere.
The report points out, "In Spain, some are betting on this ending up on a loan deal with a mandatory purchase option to be exercised the following summer." That could be at least somewhat realistic for Barcelona, but not entirely feasible because the finances won't get fixed in the next 12 months.
The complicated relationship between Neymar and Barcelona (the player demanded the club a few years ago after signing with PSG) are also not expected to facilitate any reunion.
As for Al-Hilal, Neymar neither firmly closes nor fully opens the door to the possibility, according to L'Equipe. The financial figures presented are undoubtedly enticing with the French outlet quoting a salary of "around €80m per year" being offered to the player.
However, Neymar does not consider this option his no. 1 priority as he "wants to stay in a competitive league with the World Cup 2026" still in his head and as a future target.