OFFICIAL: Neymar’s Saudi Arabia ordeal is over

Robin Bairner

• 21 Oct 2024 02:14 CDT
• 3 min read

Neymar has endured a nightmare period since moving to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal, yet all of that is set to be put behind the Brazil international star.

Neymar has been sidelined because of an ACL injury for more than a year, and while reports previously indicated that he might not play competitively until 2025, these have proven to be wide of the mark.

Indeed, the Brazil star has been called up to the Al-Hilal squad to face Al-Ain in the Asian Champions League and could potentially get his first minutes on the park since breaking down against Uruguay in a World Cup qualifier last October.

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What did Neymar say?

Neymar had to fight back the tears as he explained his difficulties getting back onto the field and the mental turmoil he felt as he battled back from yet another serious problem.

“I felt enormous pain and I knew it was serious,” Neymar told NR Sports. “What I love most in life is playing football. Every day that I am away from it is a day of suffering. So that… That is what hurts me the most.

“Every time I face an injury, I always come back.”

Neymar's injury history

This is not the first time that Neymar has had to overcome a serious injury problem.

He missed numerous important spells with PSG due to foot or ankle injuries, including the final four months of his career at Parc des Princes following surgery. He also twice suffered from metatarsal fractures that kept him out for three months at a time during key moments of the season.

As a result, he was never able to show the level on the big stage that was expected of him following his world-record €222 million transfer from Barcelona in 2017.

Neymar’s future, meanwhile, is up in the air. He is out of contract in Saudi Arabia in June 2025, at which point he will become a free agent unless a new deal is signed.