Paris St-Germain have agreed a deal to sell Brazil forward Neymar to Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for about 90m euros (£77.6m) plus add-ons.
The transfer is subject to the 31-year-old completing a medical and all necessary paperwork.
His exit also fits PSG’s strategy of moving away from the ‘Galacticos’ era of signing high-profile players for big fees and significant wages, with Lionel Messi also leaving the club earlier this summer.
Neymar was understood to be earning in the region of 25m euros (£21.6m) annually at the French side. He will reportedly be paid 150m euros (£129.2m) a year in Saudi Arabia – six times the amount he earned at PSG.
If completed, the Neymar deal will continue a remarkable summer spending spree by Saudi clubs, underlining the league’s ambition to be one of the top competitions in the world in the next few years.
The likes of Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have all moved to Saudi Arabia.
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr from Manchester United in January.
After Riyad Mahez left Manchester City to join Al-Ahli in July, Pep Guardiola said the Saudi league’s financial muscle has “changed the market”.
“A few months ago when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was the only one to go, no-one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league,” the City manager said.
“In the future there will be more and that’s why clubs need to be aware of what is happening.
“I don’t know how long they will sustain it, but the feeling is that they will stay. The players want to take this experience to play in that league and they are able to do it.”
