Neymar suffered a terrible knee injury which will keep him away from the field for many months. His Saudi club will benefit from a large sum paid by FIFA.
Neymar, Brazil’s number 10, is going through another difficult ordeal. During a World Cup qualifying match against Uruguay, where the Brazilian team suffered a 2-0 defeat, the former PSG player, who now plays for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, suddenly fell on the pitch complaining of the knee following a light contact with Nicolas de la Cruz. He had to leave the field on crutches, his left leg immobilized by a splint, under the worried gaze of the public and the Brazilian staff.
Tuesday evening, October 18, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) announced, via an official press release, that medical examinations had “confirmed the rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament and the meniscus of the left knee” of Neymar. It’s one more injury and even this time a double devastating one for the player, especially since he had just returned to competition after being sidelined for almost six months following ankle surgery. The press release also specifies that a new surgical intervention will be necessary, without specifying the date: “The attacker will be operated on, on a date which has not yet been fixed, to correct the injuries.”
This new blow means that Neymar will be out of action again for a period of at least six months, or even more, to perhaps fully regain his abilities. This period of unavailability does not suit his Saudi club, Al-Hilal, who must deprive himself of a player recruited for more than 100 million euros this summer. PSG had also experienced the medical misadventures of the Brazilian, who had missed more than a third of the matches during his six years at the club. Which was also one of the reasons for its sale.
But Al-Hilal has not yet lost everything. FIFA has set up a Club Protection Program, which guarantees them financial insurance if one of their players is injured while playing for the national team. For any injury that keeps the player away from the field for more than 28 days, as for Neymar, FIFA covers the salary during the period of unavailability!
Unfortunately for the Saudis and undoubtedly fortunately for the world football body, there is a ceiling that Neymar’s salary far exceeds: 20,548 euros per day, or a little more than 600,000 euros per month. But the Brazilian’s salary is at least 6 million euros per month, or ten times more.
Al-Hilal could still recover up to 7.5 million euros from FIFA, if Neymar was absent for an entire year (the maximum duration of compensation), and at least 3 million since the Brazilian will definitely not return to the field for six months. Very far, however, from the 75 million annually that Neymar costs his club, without even counting the price of his transfer…
