Neymar gets '£107m pay rise' from Saudis but still miles behind Cristiano Ronaldo

Neymar is reportedly set to receive a monumental pay rise by joining Al-Hilal but will still be earning far less than Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr. The Brazilian forward is said to be close to finalising a move to Saudi Arabia after being put up for sale by Paris Saint-Germain earlier this summer.

Al-Hilal are set to pay just under £86million for Neymar, according to Fabrizio Romano, with the deal having been signed off by all parties involved. He will travel to Saudi Arabia later this week to undergo a medical ahead of his move on a two-year contract, which is said to include an eye-watering annual salary.

Sky Sports are reporting that Neymar will pocket around £129m per year at Al-Hilal, marking a six-fold increase on his current wage at PSG. He is thought to be earning a comparatively modest figure of £22m per year in France, with his new deal set to make him one of the world’s highest-paid players.

His salary is still trumped by that of Ronaldo, though, with the Portuguese winger earning around £170m per year at Al-Nassr. It works out at just over £3.1m each week, which is considerably more than any other player in world football has been paid in the history of the game.

Neymar is reportedly set to wear the No 10 shirt for Al-Hilal, who have also signed the likes of Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergey Milinkovic-Savic this summer. He will be expected to lead the attacking charge for his new club this season as they look to challenge for the Saudi Pro League title after finishing third last time around.

It was recently reported that Barcelona could try to bring Neymar back to the Nou Camp, but such a move now appears to be dead in the water. The Catalan giants have struggled financially in recent years and would likely have been unable to afford the wages offered by Al-Hilal, who are one of several clubs owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.

Neymar was also tentatively linked with a move to the Premier League earlier this summer, with Manchester United said to be among the interested parties. Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, who is currently bidding to buy the Red Devils from the Glazer family, was said to have been eager to bring Neymar to the club as a marquee signing.

It now seems clear that Neymar will become the latest high-profile star to move to Saudi Arabia once the formalities of the deal are completed. He will join the likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Jordan Henderson in the Gulf state after they chose to leave their respective European clubs in exchange for mind-blowing salaries.

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