Tag: Neymar Al Hilal

Neymar, Benzema to get first taste of Asian Champions League action

Saudi Pro League superstar Neymar will get his first taste of Asian Champions League football after last season’s runners-up Al-Hilal were drawn against Iran’s Nassaji Mazandaran FC, Mumbai City FC of India and Uzbekistan’s Navbahor in the group stage on Thursday.

Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Al-Ittihad’s Karim Benzema will also debut in the group stage of Asia’s premier club football competition, where they will seek to power their clubs to victory against sides from central to east Asia.

With billions of dollars in oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has been on a buying spree of sports assets as part of plans to diversify its economy and attract tourism and investment.

Neymar’s Al-Hilal leads the AFC Champions League for most title wins, with four to its name.

With the flamboyant Brazilian playmaker Neymar in their ranks for the 2023-24 season, Al-Hilal hope to win the title for a record fifth time.

Al-Nassr, semi-finalists in the 2020 and 2021 editions, will play Iran’s Persepolis FC, Al-Duhail SC of Qatar and Tajikistan’s FC Istiklol.

Saudi Pro League champions Al-Ittihad will have their sights set on a first Asian Champions League title since winning back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005 after securing the services of French stars Benzema and N’Golo Kante.

They will take on Iran’s Sepahan SC, Air Force Club of Iraq and Uzbekistan’s AGMK FC.

Defending champions Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, bidding for the title from the competition’s eastern division, will face China’s Wuhan Three Towns FC, Pohang Steelers of South Korea and Vietnam’s Hanoi FC.

After the draw at the Asian Football Confederation headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, secretary-general Windsor John said all of the qualified teams faced tough ties across the competition.

“No easy matches,” he told AFP, adding that “a video assistant referee (VAR) system will be introduced from the group stage”.

The group stage will run from September 18 to December 13, with the knockout stage to kick off on February 12.

The two-leg final will be played on  May 11 and 18, 2024.

Group A: Pakhtakor (UZB), Al-Fayha FC (KSA), Ahal FC (TKM), Al-Ain FC (UAE)

Group B: Al Sadd SC (QAT), FC Nasaf (UZB), Al-Faisaly (JOR), Sharjah FC (UAE)

Group C: Al-Ittihad (KSA), Sepahan SC (IRN), Air Force Club (IRQ), AGMK FC (UZB)

Group D: Al-Hilal SFC (KSA), Nassaji Mazandaran FC (IRN), Mumbai City FC (IND), Navbahor (UZB)

Group E: Persepolis FC (IRN), Al-Duhail SC (QAT), FC Istiklol (TJK), Al Nassr (KSA)

Group F: Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors FC (KOR), Bangkok United (THA), Lion City Sailors (SGP), Kitchee SC (HKG)

Group G: Yokohama F. Marinos (JPN), Shandong Taishan FC (CHN), Kaya FC-Iloilo (PHI), Incheon United FC (KOR)

Group H: Buriram United (THA), Ventforet Kofu (JPN), Melbourne City FC (AUS), Zhejiang FC (CHN)

Group I: Ulsan Hyundai FC (KOR), Kawasaki Frontale (JPN), Johor Darul Ta’zim (MAS), BG Pathum United (THA)

Group J: Wuhan Three Towns FC (CHN), Pohang Steelers (KOR),Hanoi FC (VIE), Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN)

READ: Mickey Arthur links up Pakistan squad in Sri Lanka

Neymar signs two-year deal with Saudi Club Al-Hilal

Brazilian striker Neymar, on Tuesday, bid farewell to French champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) after six years as he signed a two-year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.

Al-Hilal has roped in Neymar until 2025, and will reportedly pay PSG €90 million as a transfer fee for the star forward.

Saudi Professional League (SPL) club Al-Hilal announced Neymar’s signing with a video on the team’s social media accounts.

Neymar can be seen in the video saying, “I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali.”

After signing the contract, the star Brazilian expressed his excitement to embark on a new adventure and test himself with ‘new challenges and opportunities in new places.’

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he further added.

Neymar has joined the list of star players like Karim Benzema, and Sadio Mane, who joined Saudi Arabian clubs following the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Al-Nassr last season.

“I have heard a lot and learned that I am following a long list of Brazilian players who have played in Saudi Arabia over the years, so I believe it is the desired place. I love winning and scoring goals, and I plan to continue doing that in Saudi Arabia and with Al-Hilal” said Neymar.

Neymar joined PSG in 2017 for a world record fee of 222 million euros ($242 million). He scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups.

Al-Hilal also reportedly tried to rope in Neymar’s former Barcelona and PSG team-mate Lionel Messi, however, the Argentinian went on to sign for American club Inter Miami.

READ: Ben Stokes comes out of ODI retirement ahead of World Cup

Neymar ‘in negotiations’ over Saudi move as Mbappe returns to PSG good books

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.

“If we reach an agreement with him in the coming hours, we would start negotiating with PSG immediately. He would play for Al-Hilal if a deal is sealed,” said the source.

Neymar joined PSG for a record 220 million euros ($241m) from Barcelona in 2017. Some media reports on Sunday claimed that Al-Hilal would offer in the region $80 million for the Brazilian.

Last month Al-Hilal made a 300-million-euro bid for Kylian Mbappe, though the striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the team.

Neymar underwent surgery on his right ankle in early March, only returning to join PSG on their pre-season tour of Asia.

His time at PSG has been blighted by a catalogue of injuries.

Although he helped the club to the 2020 Champions League final he has often been sidelined for key games.

If Neymar does end up moving to Saudi Arabia he will join a growing list of top players lured to the oil-rich kingdom since Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr in January.

Al-Hilal have traditionally been one of Saudi Arabia’s top clubs and have been crowned Asian Champions League winners on four occasions.

They are coached by Portugal’s Jorge Jesus, who is in his second spell at the club, while the squad currently boasts four international players recently lured from Europe — Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Neymar’s Brazilian compatriot Malcom.

Neymar’s anticipated departure from PSG would follow that of Lionel Messi who now plays for Inter Miami in the United States.

In a sign of the growing impact of the Saudis in world football, Roberto Mancini was reported Sunday to be the man lined up to become the manager of the country’s national team after his shock resignation from European champions Italy.

It has been a rocky build-up to the new Ligue 1 season for champions PSG with both Mbappe and Neymar left out of new coach Luis Enrique’s team for Saturday’s underwhelming opening goalless draw against Lorient.

After being sidelined for several weeks amid an ongoing contract dispute Kylian Mbappe watched from the Parc des Princes stands.

But the club’s prize asset is now back in the fold, for the time being at least, said PSG on Sunday.

“After very constructive and positive discussions between Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappe before the PSG-Lorient match, the player was reinstated in first team training this morning,” PSG said in a statement.

After a summer of flux at the Parc des Princes filled with new arrivals, doubts over Neymar’s future and Messi’s departure, it is the Kylian Mbappe stand-off that dominated the headlines.

The France captain has refused to sign an extension to his PSG deal, meaning he can leave for free next year, with Real Madrid long seen as his preferred destination.

Qatari-owned PSG want to sell him now and bring in a significant transfer fee for a player who cost 180 million euros from Monaco in 2017.

“The position is very clear. If Kylian wants to stay, he must sign a new contract. We can’t let the best player in the world today leave for free. It’s impossible,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said last month.

Kylian Mbappe had not been allowed to train with the first team and played only one of PSG’s five warm-up games and was not invited to the pre-season tour in Japan and South Korea.

He sat alongside fellow 2018 World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele, who completed his transfer from Barcelona earlier Saturday, as Luis Enrique handed debuts to six players against Lorient.

READ: Barcelona start La Liga title defence with ill-tempered Getafe stalemate

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