Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has offered 180 million euros to Liverpool legend MO Salah for two seasons.
According to the sources, the Jeddah Federation's offer amounted to 180 million euros for two seasons, in addition to 60 million pounds sterling to buy the remaining period in his contract with Liverpool.
Salah will join his former Liverpool colleague, Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, who joined Al Ittihad Jeddah this summer, accompanied by other football stars, most notably Karim Benzema.
After last year’s World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo became the biggest name to take the Saudi coin, pledging his twilight years to Al Nassr, who were recently pipped to the title. Later, Karim Benzema and Kanté agreed to contract with Al Ittihad.
Neymar is also reported to have agreed to a two-year deal with Saudi Arabia's pro team, Al-Hilal.
Neymar would earn 160 million euros ($175 million) over the two seasons, the sources added.
Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Saudi Ministry of Sports has allocated £17 billion (19.6 billion euros) for Saudi Pro League transfers between 2023 and 2030.
In addition to his massive salary, Neymar will also receive a number of eye-popping perks, including:
Win bonus: Neymar will receive a bonus of €80,000 for every win that Al-Hilal achieves.
Social media post bonus: Neymar will receive a bonus of €500,000 for every social media post that he makes that promotes Saudi Arabia.
Fixed ball bonus: Neymar will receive €50,000 for every fixed ball scored.
Penalty bonus: Neymar will receive €20,000 for each penalty he causes.
Goal bonus: Neymar will receive €30,000 for every goal he scores and 15,000 euros for every assist.
Private jet: Neymar will be provided with a private jet to travel to and from matches and training sessions.
Mansion with full staff: Neymar will be given a luxurious mansion to live in, complete with a full staff of servants. Despite not being married, girlfriend Bruna Biancardi will be by Neymar’s side.
The Saudi Crown Prince has been pushing to host prominent sports and entertainment events in an attempt to whitewash his poor human rights record. This includes lavishing funds on recruiting football stars.
Sources familiar with the matter recently revealed that MBS has personally intervened to include one of soccer’s biggest names in a multi-million-dollar contract.
However, human rights organisations have long accused Saudi Arabia of using sport to whitewash its poor human rights record.
In this regard, Amnesty International warned that Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has embarked on a program of “sportswashing” to try to obscure Saudi Arabia’s extremely poor human rights record.
Peter Frankental, Amnesty International UK’s Economics Affairs Programme Director, said” “Ronaldo’s big-money transfer to Al Nassr and Messi’s engagement by the Saudi authorities as a tourism ambassador are both part of Riyadh’s aggressive sportswashing program, with the authorities seeking to exploit the celebrity appeal of elite sport to deflect attention from the country’s appalling human rights record.”
“On a single day last year, the Saudi authorities executed 81 people – many after grossly unfair trials – while heavy prison sentences are being handed down to human rights defenders and women’s rights activists, and there’s still been no justice for Jamal Khashoggi’s terrible murder.
“Footballers like Ronaldo and Messi have huge profiles and we’d like to see them resisting being used as the famous faces of sportswashing, including by speaking out about human rights issues in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar.”
Saudi authorities have poured vast amounts of money into sporting ventures like Messi and Ronaldo's friendly match in the Kingdom.
Much like with Formula One and professional golf, the world's biggest oil exporter has in recent years leveraged its immense wealth to assert itself on the eSports stage, hosting glitzy conferences and snapping up established tournament organisers.
Last January, the kingdom's sovereign wealth fund launched the Savvy Gaming Group, which acquired top eSports firms ESL Gaming and FACEIT in deals reportedly worth a total of $1.5 billion.
Other media reports earlier revealed that the Riyadh-based Public Investment Fund acquired more than $3 billion worth of stock in three U.S. video-game makers during the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing. They include Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc
