As the Brazilian star gets ready to finalize his £78 million transfer to Al-Hilal, he bids a tearful farewell to his PSG teammates and staff.
Neymar said his final goodbyes at the PSG Campus on Thursday morning as he joined the exodus to Saudi Arabia, as shown in a social media video shared by the French team.
Even if rumors claim that Kylian Mbappe and the player don’t get along, there was a hug for him.
As his six-year time in Paris comes to an end, Neymar has signed a two-year contract with the Saudi club supported by the Public Investment Fund, which is believed to be worth £130 million annually.
After stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Sadio Mane have signed with Pro League clubs, the 31-year-old is the most recent footballing icon to be courted by the Middle East.
He turned down the chance to make a temporary loan return to his old team Barcelona with the possibility of an outright purchase the following year.
Despite reports that Neymar and Mbappe had a chilly relationship, they embraced as they parted ways.
The French forward reportedly warned PSG there was ‘no more room’ for both of them at the club, according to a story in the L’Equipe daily, which the Brazilian liked in an Instagram post.
At the beginning of the previous campaign, rumors stated that Mbappe was dissatisfied with Neymar’s influence in the locker room, particularly with fellow important players Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos.
In addition, Mbappe had to refute a ‘false’ rumor that Neymar, then-coach Mauricio Pochettino, and 12 other people should have been fired from the team that summer.
Mbappe was absent for PSG’s season opener against Lorient last weekend, a goalless draw, and has since returned amid his own contract dispute with the club.
On the same night that Neymar might make his Al-Hilal debut against Al Feiha, he might play a part in their second Ligue 1 match against Toulouse.
At the age of 31, Neymar has chosen to explore new opportunities despite having a contract with the French champions through 2027.
Nasser Al-Khelafi, the chairman of PSG, said, “It is inevitably difficult to say goodbye to a legend of the club, which Neymar will be forever.”
I’ll never forget the day he joined Paris Saint-Germain or the contributions he made to our team and our mission throughout the previous six years.
Neymar will always be a part of our history because we have experienced fantastic moments.
‘Thank you to him and his family,’ you say. Neymar has our best wishes for the future and his upcoming journey.
In addition, Mbappe had a record-breaking £259 million offer from Al-Hilal, but he turned it down despite his strained relationship with PSG.
The Saudi team spent a lot of money on players like Malcom from Zenit St. Petersburg, Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, and Ruben Neves from Wolves this summer.
