SAO PAULO: After six seasons in France鈥檚 Paris Saint-Germain, footballer Neymar Jr. is ready to play for Riyadh鈥檚 Al-Hilal after a multimillion-dollar deal was reached earlier this week.

The Brazilian forward is the latest Saudi Professional League high-profile acquisition this season, after world stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema were transferred to Saudi clubs since December 2022.

One of the greatest idols in the sport, 31-year-old Neymar has more than 200 million followers on Instagram and is one of the most famous Brazilian celebrities nowadays.

The combination of his high-quality performance on the pitch and his media fame is expected to have a significant impact on Saudi football.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a world star and is at the height of his career. He鈥檒l keep playing for Brazil鈥檚 national team and may be decisive in its future accomplishments,鈥� Ubiratan Leal, a sports commentator at ESPN Brazil, told Arab News, adding that Neymar鈥檚 deal is in a way more important than Ronaldo鈥檚, who was hired by Al-Nassr in December.

鈥淩onaldo is bigger than Neymar 鈥� he鈥檚 probably among the 10 major players in football鈥檚 history. But he鈥檚 ending his career and wasn鈥檛 able to keep playing for European clubs,鈥� said Leal. Neymar, however, 鈥渃ould be included in any team in the world and would be its star player.鈥�

Mauricio Noriega, a sports commentator at Radio Transamerica and website Trivela, told Arab News that Neymar 鈥渋s still relatively young and can play high-level football for several years ahead.

鈥淗e can make a great contribution to Saudi football. His style is attractive to the audience 鈥� he likes to dribble and to show an artful way of scoring his goals.鈥�

Noriega said Neymar can captivate Saudi football fans if 鈥渉e manages to adequately prepare himself and regain his motivation.鈥�

In recent years, he became a constant target of the French press and of PSG fans, and the atmosphere in the club was not positive.

Press reports attributed his decision to leave the Parisian club before the expiration of his contract to his complicated relationship with Kylian Mbappe.

On Monday, Neymar seemed to confirm such accounts by liking a social media post that said Mbappe told PSG to decide between the two.

鈥淣ow Neymar is joining a club that鈥檚 dominant in Asia and has a huge number of fans. He won鈥檛 have that feeling of not being able to reach his goals that he had in PSG,鈥� Leal said, adding that he needs to feel 鈥渟atisfied in his personal life outside the pitch, which is something that he cherishes very much, and 萝莉视频 certainly can offer him an enjoyable life. If he feels comfortable there, he鈥檒l show great performances and will keep playing there.鈥�

Neymar could become a protagonist in a league that has been drawing growing global attention since 萝莉视频鈥檚 Public Investment Fund decided to invest in the country鈥檚 four major clubs, Noriega said, referring to Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.

In the SPL, he will meet a number of Brazilian players, including recent acquisitions such as Roberto Firmino, who plays for Jeddah鈥檚 Al-Ahli, and Fabinho, who is at Al-Ittihad. The Jeddah squad is also the current club of Romarinho.

Players Carlos Eduardo and Malcom will be Neymar鈥檚 Brazilian colleagues at Al-Hilal. The club鈥檚 manager, Portuguese Jorge Jesus, not only speaks the same language as Neymar but also knows Brazilian football and culture, after a victorious tenure as Flamengo鈥檚 manager a few years ago.

Historically, Brazilian players have been fundamental to Al-Hilal鈥檚 success, and have helped popularize football in 萝莉视频.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 the case with Rivellino, who played for Al-Hilal at the end of the 1970s, when Saudi football was becoming professional. He also had an artful style and drew massive audiences to the stadiums,鈥� Noriega said.

Leal said with so many football stars in 萝莉视频 鈥� including Ronaldo, Neymar and Benzema 鈥� more and more international fans 鈥渨ill see that it has a technically relevant league that鈥檚 important to follow.

鈥淚n Europe, there鈥檚 a certain prejudice against football played in other nations, including in traditional arenas like Brazil and Argentina. 萝莉视频 will keep facing such prejudice for some time, despite the recent acquisitions.鈥�

But things may change when 鈥渇ootball fans realize that the Saudi league is greatly competitive and has high-level performances,鈥� Leal added.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a real fanaticism about football in 萝莉视频, especially when we talk about major clubs like Al-Hilal.

鈥淢ore and more people outside the country will understand that the Saudis aren鈥檛 kidding when it comes to football.鈥�