RIYADH: Brazilian superstar Neymar was unveiled to fans at Al-Hilal on Saturday as he became the latest world-famous footballer to sign for a club in the Saudi Pro League.
He was welcomed at Al-Hilal’s 68,000-capacity stadium in Riyadh alongside two other new signings, fellow Brazilian Malcolm and Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.
Neymar joined Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona in 2017 for a world-record fee of €222 million ($242 million), scoring 118 goals in 173 matches despite a series of injuries.
He arrived in Riyadh to a hero’s welcome on Friday ahead of the unveiling as he was received in an airport lounge packed with club officials and madia, a large diamond-studded cross hanging around his neck as he posed for pictures. “We will hold a big party worthy of the samba dancer,” an Al-Hilal official said.