Indian Football left buzzing at the prospect of Neymar playing in India

Saudi Pro League has been grabbing all the headlines since their capture of Cristiano Ronaldo. AL-Nassr opened the door for many of the big names in the world of football to jump ship to the Middle Eastern league.  The latest to join the chorus of stars is none other than Neymar JR who has signed a deal with AL-Hilal FC.

Neymar became the latest big name to join the Saudi Pro League after the likes of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante linked up with AL-Ittihad FC.  The signing of Neymar is considered a huge coup as the Saudi league missed out on the big-name signing of Lionel Messi who is now playing in the United States of America.

Mumbai City FC drawn in the same group as AL–Hilal

Indian Super League powerhouse team, Mumbai City FC found themselves drawn in the same group as AL-Hilal FC. The two teams are in Group D of the AFC Champions League tournament. Mumbai City FC and AL Hilal FC were joined by FC Nassaji Mazandaran from the Iranian Pro League. The last team in the group is PFC Navbahor Namangan from the Uzbekistan Super League.

Indian fans have always wanted to watch some of the leading footballing talents play in India. The possibility of Neymar coming to India has now risen as he could be seen leading the line for Al Hilal FC.

Mumbai City FC will play all its home games in Pune. Des Buckingham and his men will relish the prospect of playing against the likes of Neymar along with Ruben Neves and Kalidou Koulibaly.

Starting off as an exciting forward with Santos FC, Neymar attracted the attention of some of the top European teams. The Brazilian made his way to FC Barcelona in 2013 and formed the famed MSN trio with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. Neymar played 123 games for Barcelona scoring 68 goals. Neymar also won the La Liga twice along with 3 Copa Del Rey titles and one Champions League and one Club World Cup.

In 2017, Neymar shocked the football world when he moved to France to play for Paris Saint Germain. The transfer fee was a whopping 222 Million euros. For PSG, Neymar played 112 games scoring 82 goals. Neymar also went on to win the Ligue 1 five times along with every domestic title in France. Neymar couldn’t win the Champions League title with PSG as they lost the final to Bayern Munich with a 1-0 margin.

AL-Hilal FC has the distinction of winning the AFC Champions League for the most time with 4 title wins. They have also been runners-up five times with their latest title win coming in 2021, while they lost the 2022 final to Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan.