Neymar and PSG: Was it all worth it?

Football changed when Neymar completed his €222million transfer from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.

It was a watershed moment for the sport, with a transfer fee that inflated the market and was either seen as extortionate or grotesque, depending on who you asked. But it was more than just a football transfer. It was a statement of intent.

Advertisement

The move in 2017 from PSG’s Qatari backers provided a wake-up call to the power of state-backed ownership and how that influence can shape the global game. In that context, it is fitting that Neymar will depart for Saudi Arabia, signing a two-year contract in an £80million ($102m) move to Al Hilal, swapping one wealth fund for another. It again casts him as the symbol of football’s next great power shift. Neymar, the wondrously gifted footballer drifting along the winds of geopolitics.

That Saudi Arabia proved to be the only viable option for Neymar after six years reflects his own story in Paris. At 31, he is a player who should be at the top of his game, with some key years still left to run, but instead, he now heads for what feels like a gilded retirement. Saudi Arabia is not China — he is joining the best club in Asia and one of the most widely supported teams in the game. But while the Saudi investment drive may one day make the Pro League a footballing Mecca, it is not there yet.

“I am here in Saudi Arabia, i am HILALI