Neymar has seen his torrid spell at Al-Hilal finally come to an end, after mutually agreeing to terminate his contract with the Saudi Pro League.
After leaving Santos in 2013 for Barcelona, Neymar looks set to return to his boyhood club on a free transfer, with the Brazilian signing a short-term deal to take him up until the summer of 2025.
But with the 32-year-old leaving Saudi Arabia less than 18 months after moving there, is Neymar to Al-Hilal the worst transfer ever completed? In FourFourTwo’s view, it could well be…
Why Neymar to Al-Hilal is the worst transfer ever
While Neymar’s €220m move from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 is still the most expensive transfer in the history of football, he completed another lucrative move in August 2023 when leaving the French giants for Al-Hilal, in a deal worth €90m.
Signing a contract worth a reported €150m per year on a two-year deal, the move looked set to cost Al-Hilal €390m in total for just two seasons of Neymar’s service. But while he has departed six months earlier than originally agreed, Neymar has still pocketed close to €225m just for himself – notwithstanding the sizeable transfer fee, too.
Other players, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane have all made high-profile moves to Saudi Arabia in recent times to earn lucrative contracts, though, so what makes Neymar’s the worst in history?
Well, while he earned astronomical wages during 18 months in the Middle East, Neymar actually only played a grand total of seven games for Al-Hilal. And even then, he only managed to feature in 428 total minutes during those seven games, scoring just one goal and registering three assists.
To put that into perspective, he was paid €525,700 for each minute he was on the pitch for Al-Hilal, while the transfer alone cost the Saudi side €12,857,142 for each single appearance.
Injury played a crucial part in his lack of gametime, with an ACL rupture he picked up while on international duty in October 2023 ruling him out for a full year. When he finally made his return in October 2024, a hamstring injury then kept him out for an extra couple of months.
Al-Hilal manager Jorge Jesus compounded matters when announcing Neymar wasn’t registered for the second half of 2024/25, prior to his contract termination, by stating: “Neymar can no longer perform at the level we are used to. Things have become difficult for him, unfortunately.”
So, while Philippe Coutinho, Romelu Lukaku and Antony have all completed transfers in the last decade that have all gone wrong in one way or another, Neymar’s switch to Al-Hilal is undoubtedly the worst of the lot.
