By Victor Kanayo
Paris St-Germain (PSG) have agreed a deal to sell Brazil forward Neymar to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for about 90m euros (£77.6m) plus add-ons.
The transfer is subject to the 31-year-old completing a medical and all necessary paperwork.
Neymar, who joined PSG for a world record fee of 222m euros in 2017, was left out of their squad for the Ligue 1 draw against Lorient on Saturday.
He was not part of coach Luis Enrique’s plans for the new season.
His exit also fits PSG’s strategy of moving away from the ‘Galacticos’ era of signing high-profile players for big fees and significant wages, after Lionel Messi left the club earlier this summer.
Neymar PSG Earnings Vs Al-Hilal Offer
Neymar was understood to be earning in the region of 25m euros (£21.6m) annually at the French side.
He will reportedly be paid 150m euros (£129.2m) a year in Saudi Arabia – six times the amount he earned at PSG.
Salah Going…
Meanwhile, another Saudi Arabia side Al-Ittihad are to be ready to raid Liverpool for Mohamed Salah, with the Saudi Pro League club planning a €60 million move for the Egypt international attacker, according to reports in the Gulf.
Top Guns Already At Al-Ittihad
Al-Ittihad, who are coached by Nuno Espirito Santo, have already made three eye-catching signings this summer.
On top of securing Fabinho for €47m from Liverpool, they made the headlines thanks to the arrivals of France internationals Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante from Real Madrid and Chelsea respectively.
The Jeddah-based club, though, are aiming to complete a hat-trick of big transfers with the potential arrival of Salah, who enjoys hero status throughout the Arab world.
Al Riyadiah, who is a paper that focuses exclusively on sport, reports that Al-Ittihad are ready to offer Liverpool €60m for Salah.
On top of this, the Saudi Pro League outfit are poised to propose a contract that is worth €90m a year to the 31-year-old, who has two years to run on his current deal at Liverpool.
He has been proposed a two-year deal, taking the total cost of the transaction for El-Itthad to €240m, including wages and transfer fee
