Neymar will not play for his new club until September. © APA/afp / FAYEZ NURELDINE

Neymar's debut is postponed

The superstar is still working on an injury. Meanwhile, Mitrovic is also moving to Saudi Arabia.

August 20, 2023

From: dpa

While Lionel Messi joined Inter in Miami with a title straight away, Neymar's Saudi fans will still have to be patient. The Brazilian is out due to an unspecified injury. Al-Hilal coach Jorge Jesus announced this. “Neymar is a creative player who will help us improve. But he has a minor injury now,” Jesus said.

"I don't know when he will be able to play again, maybe he will be ready by mid-September," Jesus said on Saturday at a welcome ceremony in front of 60.000 spectators at the King Fahd International Stadium. Drones flew over Al-Hilal's home stadium and wrote "Neymar is blue" in the sky before the former Barcelona star watched his new team draw 1-1 with Al-Fayha.

Neymar was presented in front of 60.000 fans. © APA/afp / HAITHAM EL-TABEI

Coach Jesus didn't like the fact that Neymar was nominated for two World Cup qualifiers for Brazil next month. “I don’t know why the Brazilian national team was able to call him up, he’s not ready yet,” Jesus said. Neymar has not played for his home country since last year's World Cup as he recovers from an ankle injury last February, but was called up for the games against Bolivia (September 8.9) and Peru (September 12.9).
Neymar has signed a two-year contract that will bring him 160 million euros, according to the French sports daily L'Equipe.

Mitrovic to Al-Hilal

Meanwhile, it was announced that Al-Hilal have made further moves in the transfer market: Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has been signed until 2026, as both clubs announced on Saturday. Financial details were not disclosed, but British media reported that the Saudis would shell out more than £46 million for the 28-year-old Serb. Mitrovic has been Fulham's top scorer in four of the past five Premier League seasons.