Saudi giants make SEISMIC move to bring in Mo Salah
Saudi Arabia’s interest in Mo Salah is, at this point, no surprise to anyone.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned clubs have long been a target to lure Salah to, with rumours of a contract even higher than Cristiano Ronaldo’s eye-watering £3m+ per-week deal on offer.
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Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr have all been floated as potential placements for Salah, but it has emerged in more recent months that Al-Hilal are seen as the frontrunners for the Egyptian.
The original thought was to pair Salah with superstar Neymar to create a spectacle that could even challenge for the Club World Cup, but spanners have been thrown into that plan due to Neymar’s recurring injuries.
And a new report by Spanish outlet AS indicates that Neymar may be on his way out of Al-Hilal - and Salah is now seen as the ideal replacement instead of complement.
Neymar departure opens door for Salah Saudi move
Neymar’s contract ends this summer and, as the report states, “at the moment, there are no talks to renew it.” His departure could come as early as the current transfer window, with Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami floated as a potential destination.
But what this means is that there are funds and squad places free and Salah is Al-Hilal’s ideal player to fill this position.
Al-Hilal reportedly like not only the level of his play and the superstardom he brings in the Arab world, but the reliability Salah presents as opposed to the Brazilian maverick currently on their books.
The Saudi side paid around £75m to PSG for Neymar’s services whilst adding nearly £84m a year by way of salary to the deal back in the summer of 2023.
However, largely due to injury, Neymar has played seven total games in the season-and-a-half since then. He tore his ACL on international duty for Brazil after just five games in October 2023, and then suffered a hamstring injury not long after his return in November 2024.
Al-Hilal dominating without Neymar
As a result, he has cost the club £22.7m per appearance at time of writing.
Salah, alternatively, has missed less than a grand total of three months through injury during his seven-and-a-half years on Merseyside (knock on wood). If he isn’t agreeing a deal to stay at Anfield, then Al-Hilal will be clamouring to bring him to Riyadh in the hopes that he can outperform Neymar in the space of a month.
The Saudi side have performed well in Neymar’s absence, winning the league and cup last season as well as reaching the AFC Champions League semi-finals. They currently sit second in the league with a star-studded squad that includes Aleksandar Mitrovic, Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo, amongst others.
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