320 million salary & pure luxury
Media reveal Neymar’s ludicrous demands
08/16/2023, 06:21 p.m
First paid by Qatar, now by Saudi Arabia: Neymar’s career is defined more by financial than sporting records, and criticism at home is growing. The “Sun” would now like to have found out what crazy extras Neymar made a condition of his change.
Neymar is spoiled for choice. The 31-year-old could buy the Paris St. Germain stadium from his future salary in Saudi Arabia, or all the players from the top Brazilian clubs Flamengo and Palmeiras. The Brazilian newspaper “Lance” calculated that the 320 million euros that Neymar will earn in two years at the Saudi club Al-Hilal would also be enough for twelve Rolls-Royce Boat Tail, the most expensive car in the world. “The total amount is so high that it’s hard to imagine what you can do with that money,” Lance wrote, noting that Neymar is paid €330 a minute – even when he’s asleep.
It’s numbers like these that shape Neymar’s career. The record sum of 222 million euros that PSG paid to FC Barcelona in 2017 is still stuck to him. On the other hand, he will hardly go down in history with sporting records, his move to the desert cements this image even more. Criticism is therefore growing at home. “Going to Al-Hilal will be an eternal mark on one’s career,” wrote Globoesporte, while the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper called Neymar “just another example of Saudi Arabia’s sports washing project”. His father and adviser Neymar Santos Sr. will be “happier than a Bedouin at the waterfall” about the deal, the newspaper wrote about the man, who “rather describes his filius as a ‘brand’ than a ‘son'”.
In addition to the crazy salary that the 31-year-old will earn in the desert in the future, he apparently gets a lot of goodies. The British tabloid “Sun” reports on numerous extra sausages that Neymar demanded in return for his move to Al-Hilal. This includes:
- A private fleet for you and your entourage, consisting of four Mercedes luxury cars and three cars from the brands Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Bentley.
- A personal chauffeur available 24/7 for him and his entourage.
- A fridge that is always full in his new luxury hostel, which is said to have at least 25 rooms.
- Three fully equipped saunas in his new home.
- Five full-time butlers who, among other things, are to support his personal chef from Brazil.
- The full assumption of his costs for hotel, restaurant and city visits, which he makes on his days off.
- An oversized swimming pool that should be at least 10 meters wide and 40 meters long.
- The use of a private jet whenever he or his dependents require it.
And what does that mean for sporting ambitions? That’s it? So far, Neymar has won the 2016 Olympics and won the 2014/15 Champions League with Barça. There are also various titles with subscription master Paris, financed from Qatar. And: With 77 goals, he is equal to Pelé, Brazil’s record goalscorer. Truly not a bad record, but Neymar will only be on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi financially – even if he may see it differently himself.
Despite all the criticism, it should not go unmentioned that Neymar would have liked to stay in Europe, but simply did not receive any offers. And so Al-Hilal was the only sensible way to get out of the 2027 contract in Paris, where he had no future. Neymar’s plan apparently envisages returning to Europe on a free transfer in two years’ time in order to recommend himself again for the 2026 World Cup. So he hasn’t completely given up on serious football.