El Al Hilal, first Real Madrid rival at the FIFA Club World Cuparrives at the tournament after spend more than 450 million euros in two years to sign known faces from LaLiga such as Bono, Malcom, Renan Lodi and Joao Cancelo, in addition to Neymar Juniorwhich left the club last January after costing 90 million and playing only seven games.
The champions of Arabia 2023-24 Real Madrid will challenge on the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami with a squad full of players who were in the European football elite and who joined the Saudi team sports project based on millions, both for their signings and for their salaries.
The Portuguese Rubén Neves and Joao Cancelo, the Brazilians Renan Lodi and Malcom, the Serbios Sergej Milinkovic Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Moroccan Yassin Bono are just some names that are part of the template of the al Hilal.
Read too
They all work since June 1 under the orders of Italian Simone Inzaghithe coach who took Inter Milan to two finals of the Champions League and left Italy after the last defeat in the European final against Paris Saint Germain.
There are many unknowns about the role of Al Hilal at the FIFA Club World Cupin which it will be measured, in addition that with Real Madrid, with clubs of great tradition such as Pachuca and Salzburg.
Dominate Saudi football
The Saudi sports project is very clear. He Al Hilal He wants to dominate in Arabia and to do so he has thrown out of the talonario. In the 2023-2024 course he spent 376 million dollars, according to the Transfermarkt specialized portal.
In that market session it caused an earthquake in European football. They arrived To Saudi football, Milinkovic Savic, Mitrovic, Koulibaly, Rubén Neves, Malcom and, above all, Neymar.
The Brazilian, who was then 31 years oldleft Paris Saint Germain in exchange for 90 million dollars and received an estimated salary at one hundred million dollars annually.
It was going to be the great reference and figure of Al Hilal, but the operation soon became an economic hole.
Neymar The anterior cross ligament and the right knee meniscus were broken in a match between Brazil and Uruguay on October 17, 2023.
It reappeared more than a year later, on October 21, 2024, in a match of the Asian Champions League. However, a few days later he had a muscle injury that forced him to stop again.
AllL, Neymar He played seven games with Al Hilal, before leaving the club to Santos.
The Saudi club did not stop investing in the 2024-2025 course, When he spent more than 100 million euros to sign Marcos Leonardo (40 million), from Benfica, Moteb al-Harbi (28 million), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, 25 million) and Kaio César (Vitoria Guimaraes, 9 million), among others.
He Al Hilal He was Arabia champion last year, but this season he did not go from second position, behind the Ittihad.
The team of Simone Inzaghi He will face Real Madrid this Wednesday at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The match will begin at 15.00 premises, 21.00 in Spain.
