Neymar said he had moved to an ‘incredibly competitive’ league when he joined Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia and praised Cristiano Ronaldo for driving the growth of the Saudi Pro League despite being called ‘crazy’ when he moved to the Middle East last December.
Brazil forward Neymar has left French champions Paris Saint-Germain to join Riyadh-based defending champions Asia Al Hilal for $98.6 million (€90 million).
The former Barcelona star has been linked with moves to Manchester United, Chelsea and a return to Camp Nou this summer.
Neymar says that Ronaldo’s decision to join Al-Nassr following his departure from United has made Saudi Arabia an attractive destination for him and some of football’s greatest players.
“I believe Cristiano Ronaldo started all this and everyone called him ‘crazy’, and this and that,” Neymar said as quoted by ESPN.
“Today you see the league is growing.”
“The league will be very competitive, especially after the signings were made in the summer transfer market. I believe competitiveness is important. That’s why I joined this league. I am driven by challenges. I am there to help the league develop,” he continued.
“I’m very excited to write a new story pursuing all goals with the club and my teammates — winning more titles and fulfilling the club’s ambitions. I’m very passionate about that.”
Neymar is expected to earn an annual salary of $100 million (€91.7 million) at Al Hilal.
In addition, Neymar also said that the presence of Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino and others would make the Saudi Arabian League even more attractive and competitive.
“It’s nice, meeting high-quality players in other teams makes you happy, and motivates you to play even better,” said Neymar.
“And when you face Ronaldo, Benzema, Firmino, the excitement is even bigger.
“So I’m excited to join this league, facing them would be amazing, it would be fantastic. Of course a lot of Brazilians will be watching the league. Obviously I’ll be there and I hope all Brazilians and everyone who follows the league to support it.” Al Hilal.
“The message I have for them is I will do my best to make them enjoy football, our goal is to win all the titles.”
The Saudi Pro League has invested over 600 million euros to attract some of the top players and coaches from European clubs, with other notable players such as Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez.
Neymar’s new team, Al Hilal, will host Al-Feiha in their next game on Saturday.
