Brazilian international Neymar da Silva Santos Junior has reach agreement on Monday with Saudi Arabia club, Al-Hilal to terminate his contract by mutual agreement
In a statement posted on social media, “The club expresses its thanks and appreciation to Neymar for what he has provided throughout his career with Al-Hilal, and wish the player success in his career,”
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward played just seven times for the club since joining in August 2023, despite his reported salary of around $104 million per year.
Neymar 32, was the subject of what is still the biggest transfer in football history when he joined Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a fee of 220 million euros ($230 million at), joined Al-Hilal in August 2023.
The Brazilian star followed fellow superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and a host of other stars to the lucrative Saudi league.
However two months after his arrival in Riyadh, he sustained a cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Brazil in a World Cup qualifier in October 2023, which kept him on the sidelines for almost a year.
He returned for Al Hilal with two brief appearances in October and November but injured a hamstring and has not played since. He said he is targeting the World Cup.
The club’s coach Jorge Jesus said recently: “He can no longer play at the level we are used to. Things have become difficult for him, unfortunately.”
Earlier in January, Neymar said he was aiming to play in the 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico.
“I know this will be my last World Cup, my last shot, my last chance and I will do everything I can to play in it,” he told CNN.
While Neymar had been curted by MLS teams in the United States, reports in Brazil said Santos, the club where Neymar made his name in his now fading career, was in talks for him to return to his homeland.
