- Neymar Jnr was greeted by boos and chants for Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday
- The Brazilian was then seen chatting to Rafael Nadal who retires next month
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Neymar Jnr may have been surprised to be greeted by a round of boos when he made an appearance at Saudi Arabia’s ‘6 Kings Slam’ tournament on Thursday night.
The football megastar joined Public Investment Fund (PIF) owned Al-Hilal in 2023 to bring an end to his Paris Saint-Germain nightmare in a £78million move that came as something of a shock.
The Brazilian forward is thought to be on eye-watering money in the Saudi Pro League and was one of the divisions biggest coups, penning a three-year deal that is reportedly set to earn him some £26m-a-year.
As one of the most famous faces in football in the last decade, he might expect to become something of an overnight celebrity in Saudi Arabia, however judging by the response to his recent appearance, the opposite would appear to be true.
After coming out onto the court at the ‘6 Kings Slam’ event, he was booed loudly from fans assembled in the 8,000-seat purpose built arena called The Venue.
Tennis fans in Saudi Arabia booed Brazilian superstar Neymar Jnr at the ‘6 Kings Slam’ event
Neymar was spotted catching up with Rafael Nadal – who is set to retire from tennis next month
There were even audible chants of ‘Ronaldo! Ronaldo’ with Cristiano Ronaldo being a huge success unsurprisingly in Saudi Arabia after his own move to Al-Nassr.
The Brazilian was then seen chatting to Rafael Nadal, who was beaten in straight sets 6-3 6-3 by compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in his round of the exhibition tournament.
The competition will see each competitor – Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev, Alcaraz and Nadal – take home at least $1.5m (£1.15m), and the winner pocketing $6m (£4.6m), which is the largest pot in tennis history.
Nadal was making one of his final ever appearances on a tennis court, having announced his imminent retirement from the sport.
His final outing will be at the Davis Cup representing Spain in November, bringing an end to a breath-taking career as arguably the greatest to ever pick up a racket.
Despite making headlines for his decision to move to Saudi Arabia, Neymar has still only actually played three top-flight games for his new club.
In that time he did look to be settling in quickly, with three assists in as many games, however his progress was quickly halted by a serious injury.
He missed 271 days last season after being injured in his first few Al-Hilal appearances and subsequently needing to undergo corrective surgery that has required extensive rehabilitation.
The Brazilian was not given the welcome that he might have been expecting at The Venue
Neymar had been linked with making a shock return to former club Barcelona over the summer
Neymar could however soon return to action at Al-Hilal when as he continues to step up his recovery efforts.
Reports had linked him with a sensational return to Barcelona over the summer, though his camp were quick to pour cold water on such talk.
