Saudi league: Neymar joins Al Hilal

Brazil forward Neymar has signed for Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain, the clubs announced on Tuesday, joining Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema as the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

"I am here in Saudi Arabia, I am Hilali," the 31-year-old Neymar said in a video posted to Al Hilal's social media accounts.

"It is always difficult to say goodbye to an amazing player like Neymar, one of the best players in the world," said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi in a statement from the French champions.

"I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain, and what he has contributed to our club and our project over the last six years. We had a great moment and Neymar will always be a big part of our history," he added.

Neymar joined PSG from Barcelona in 2017 for a world record fee of 222 million euros ($242 million), a few weeks before they recruited Kylian Mbappe.

The Brazilian scored 118 goals in 173 matches for PSG, winning five Ligue 1 titles and three French Cups, but his time at PSG was blighted by a catalogue of injuries.

Although he helped the club to the 2020 Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich, he was sidelined for key games.

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.

Last month Al-Hilal made a 300-million-euro ($328 million) bid for Mbappe, though the striker reportedly refused to meet with officials from the team.

Paris were open to Neymar leaving last season, but his estimated salary of 30 millions euros a year put off any potential buyers.

He started the season strongly but was hit by the latest in a series of ankle injuries at the World Cup in Qatar.

Neymar won a domestic treble in his maiden season in France, although he did not play in the latter stages of the campaign after fracturing a metatarsal.

The following season saw Neymar insult officials on Instagram after PSG were dumped out of the Champions League by Manchester United, before he appeared to punch a spectator after a French Cup final defeat by Rennes.

He was then disciplined after missing pre-season training in 2019 but decided to stay at the club after not securing a transfer back to Barca.

A third straight Ligue 1 title followed in a Covid-hit season, but PSG suffered heartbreak in the Champions League showpiece, losing 1-0 to Bayern.

He suffered ankle and adductor injuries in the 2020-21 season as PSG contrived to lose the French title race to Lille.

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