The Gulf kingdom’s most decorated club Al Hilal won their fourth Saudi Professional League title in five years on Saturday, once again keeping Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo from winning the title with rivals Al Nasr, who are 12 points behind in second place. This is the 19th domestic title won by the Saudi football giants.
Neymar was delighted to see his Al Hilal teammates win the Saudi Arabian league title in his absence and says he is eagerly awaiting his return to action next season.
The Brazilian star joined Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain last summer, but soon afterwards he suffered a cruciate ligament tear last October while on international duty. He missed the season after making three appearances in the Saudi Professional League before his injury, scoring three assists as Al Hilal won two games and drew one.
His last league game of the season, a 2-0 win over Al Shabab at the end of September, was the first game of Al Hilal’s 34-game winning streak.
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‘I’m very happy of course. Winning titles is always good. But I’m very happy for my teammates,’ Neymar said, at the title celebrations on Saturday following Al Hilal’s 4-1 win over Al Hazm, which marked Al Hilal’s eighth title since the inception of the Saudi Professional League in 2008-09.
‘I’m fine. I feel good. I can’t wait to get back on the pitch. The fans are incredible. Unfortunately, I couldn’t give them the happiness they deserve, but you can be sure that we will have a lot of fun next season.’
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Al Hilal finalised the league title with three games to go, having won 29 of their 31 matches so far. Al Hilal’s next game will see them host Cristiano Ronaldo‘s side in the Riyadh derby at the former’s stadium on Friday 17 May. Al Hilal are unbeaten domestically this season, with Al Nasr trailing their nearest rivals by 12 points.
Al Hilal achieved an impressive result in the Premier League earlier this season by surpassing the record of 27 consecutive wins set by Al Hilal in 2016-17. Prior to that, the record stood for 44 years after Dutch giants Ajax, who won 26 matches between 1971 and 1972.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF), a sovereign wealth fund working to diversify the Saudi economy, includes members of the Saudi ‘Big Four’ – Al Hilal, Al Nasr, Al Ittihad, Benzema’s club, and Al Ahli, Mahrez’s team
Al Hilal and Al Nasr will meet again in the King’s Cup final on 31 May.
