The Brazilian has suffered another injury setback that has thrown his future at the Saudi Pro League club into serious doubt
"The sky is the limit. Now fly, my boy. What a beautiful story you are writing," Ronaldo Nazario said after seeing Neymar hit a hat-trick in a World Cup qualifier against Peru in 2020 to overtake him in Brazil's all-time top scorers list. "A complete and increasingly mature player. Trust your instincts because the talent is yours and nobody can pull you down. You have many records to break and many marks to leave. Proud to see a Brazilian at the top."
Four years on, Neymar's "beautiful story" has turned into a nightmare. Injuries completely overshadowed the latter stages of his Paris Saint-Germain career, and the French giants jumped at the chance to get rid of him when Al-Hilal came in with a €90 million (£77.2m/$98.3m) bid in the 2023 summer transfer window.
The Santos academy graduate does have more goals to his name than any other Brazil player in history now (79), but hasn't scored for his country since beating Pele's record in September 2023. A month later, Neymar tore his ACL on international duty, and the road to recovery was so gruelling that he contemplated giving up on the sport entirely.
Neymar ultimately overcame those demons to return to the pitch, but his comeback has lasted just two games, leaving Al-Hilal in a real bind. The Saudi Pro League club may have no choice but to write off their initial investment in the enigmatic 32-year-old, who will surely never "fly" at the highest level again.
Getty Images SportA king's welcome
To say that Al-Hilal rolled out the red carpet for Neymar would be the understatement of the century. For a start, he was handed a two-year contract worth a staggering €160m (£137m/$175m), making him the third highest-paid player in the Pro League after Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr and Karim Benzema at Al-Ittihad.
According to Spanish publication , Neymar also demanded a 25-room mansion, complete with a swimming pool and three saunas. The club agreed to employ eight people to see to the upkeep of the property, while providing him with nine supercars and all expenses paid for travel, restaurants and hotels.
As if all of that wasn't enough, Al-Hilal also staged a lavish presentation ceremony for the Brazilian at their home stadium that included fireworks and an elaborate drone display that spelled out 'Neymar is blue', with fellow new signings Malcolm and Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou very much forced to take a backseat.
"Neymar Jr is a global icon who has brought joy and pleasure to all fans wherever he plays," club chairman Fahad Bin Saad Bin Nafel declared. "The spotlight is always on him and he always responds to it." Suffice to say, the former Barcelona star has not lived up to that billing.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportVery mixed start
Neymar wasn't even fit enough to play any part in Al-Hilal's first four league matches of the 2023-24 campaign, having arrived still nursing the ankle issue that derailed his final season at PSG. But he showed little sign of rust when his debut finally came around, registering two assists off the bench in a thumping 6-1 demolition of Al-Riyadh.
However, Al-Hilal were held to a disappointing draw in their opening AFC Champions League game against Navbahor, with Neymar lasting only 60 minutes on his first start. They also drew 1-1 with Damac two days later, and the fleet-footed attacker was guilty of wasting a host of clear-cut chances. Two sub-par performances were all it took to spark speculation over Neymar being unhappy in his new surroundings, as reports of a rift with head coach Jorge Jesus emerged alongside talk of a potential Santos homecoming.
The situation took another turn for the worse when Neymar missed a first-half penalty in his third appearance against Al-Shabab. It was a humiliating moment that compounded his frustrating start to life in the Middle East, but he refused to let his head drop.
Neymar responded with a dazzling second-half display, tormenting the Al-Shabab defence with his unpredictable dribbling and incisive passing. He also set up Kalidou Koulibaly to the score opener before Aleksandr Mitrovic wrapped up a hard-fought 2-0 victory. Jesus had nothing but good things to say about Al-Hilal's poster boy after the game, as he told reporters: "Neymar is improving every game and he is also getting better in terms of fitness and it’s only a matter of time until he is back to his best."
AFPA tantalising glimpse
Despite Neymar's gradual improvement, supporters were growing impatient for his first goal. It turned out to be well worth the wait, though, as the Brazil international rifled a thunderous first-time shot into the far corner during Al-Hilal's 3-0 AFC Champions League victory over Nassaji Mazandaran, sparking wild scenes of celebration in the away section of the Azadi Stadium.
It was a vintage Neymar finish to a move he had engineered, and it capped another fine all-round showing, this time on a shockingly poor pitch that had thin strips of turf placed over patches of exposed concrete. That left Neymar with four-goal contributions in his first five outings at Al-Hilal, which was a satisfactory return given his struggles for fitness.
But that would be as good as it ever got for supporters in the Middle East; little more than a tantalising glimpse of what Neymar is truly capable of. He then went off for Brazil duty full of confidence, only to return to Al-Hilal two weeks later a broken man.
Neymar Instagram/ GettyThe rehab process
The harrowing images of Neymar being stretchered off in tears during Brazil's 2-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Uruguay left everyone fearing the worst. It was no surprise when Al-Hilal announced he would need surgery, or when it was reported that the experienced frontman would be out for at least 10 months.
Neymar was subsequently deregistered by the club for the remainder of the season, so they could make room for one more foreign player in the January transfer window, and ruled out of the 2024 Copa America finals. Al-Hilal took a gamble investing so much money in a player with such a storied injury history, and unsurprisingly, it backfired.
Across his six seasons at PSG, Neymar sat out over 100 matches. The French giants won five Ligue 1 titles during that time, and Neymar's record for goals and assists was still mightily impressive, but they could never fully rely on the man they paid a world-record €220m (£190m/$241m) to Barcelona for back in 2017.
Still, Al-Hilal put all their resources into Neymar's rehabilitation, and he kept fans up to date with his progress on Instagram. He was even seen screaming in pain in one video after being fitted with a clunky leg brace, but the post came with the optimistic caption: "Everything passes."
By February, Neymar was able to start individual work at Al-Hilal's training base. There was no big rush to get him fit again, though, because the team was flourishing in his absence.