Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Neymar, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League, Football
Marcus Chan
Neymar once had to publicly address rumours that he tried to get Al Hilal manager Jorge Jesus sacked.
Back in the summer of 2023, Neymar was one of many high-profile players who ditched European football for the Saudi Professional League.
The Brazilian completed his move from Paris Saint Germain to Al Hilal for a reported fee of €90 million.
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In the same summer, the likes of Karim Benzema, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino and Riyad Mahrez also left Europe for the Middle East.
A few months after joining the Saudi Arabian club, reports claimed that Neymar wanted the club to sack manager Jesus after a dressing room altercation.
According to Spanish news outlet Mundo Deportivo, Neymar demanded the club dismiss Jesus after he was harshly reprimanded for his below-par performance and bad attitude.
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The report also claimed that club directors met with Jesus’ agent at the time to warn him of the possibility of terminating the coach’s contract if Al Hilal’s performance did not improve.
On the back of those claims, Neymar took to social media to respond, he wrote: “Lies... Y'all got to stop believing these things, pages like this... with millions of followers you can't keep posting fake news! With all due respect in the world, I ask you to stop this. This is a lot of disrespect.”
Prior to making a move to Saudi Arabia, Neymar played for the likes of Santos, Barcelona and Paris Saint Germain.
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The forward enjoyed his biggest successes during his time at the Parc des Princes, winning five Ligue 1 titles, three Coupe de France trophies, two Coupe de la Ligue titles and three Trophees des Champions.
On the international stage, Neymar has been capped 128 times by Brazil, scoring 79 goals. He was also part of the squad which won the gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.