Tag: Al Hilal

Al Ain vs. Al Hilal: How to watch AFC Champions League, live stream

Can anybody stop Al Hilal from winning four trophies this season?

Can anybody stop Al Hilal from winning four trophies this season?

It looks increasingly difficult to slow down the Saudi powerhouse, but Al Ain will be the next team to try in the AFC Champions League semifinal.

Al Ain will host the first leg on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi as it aims to get off to a good start ahead of next week’s second leg in Riyadh.

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch the AFC Champions League on Paramount Plus” link=”https://paramountplus.qflm.net/217Nxg”]

Al Hilal has already won the Saudi Super Cup and has a 12-point lead in the Saudi Pro League over second-place Al Nassr. It has also reached the semifinal of the King’s Cup, which will take place later this month.

It looks like a daunting task for Al Ain, but the Emirati side has already upset Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr in the quarterfinal of the Champions League.

The winner of this tie will face the winner of the other semifinal between Ulsan HD and Yokohama F. Marinos.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.

Al Ain vs. Al Hilal (AFC Champions League)

  • When: Wednesday, April 17
  • Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Paramount+ (WATCH NOW)

[lawrence-related id=60180,56089,36314]

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Pro Soccer Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.

Inter Miami owner Beckham says Neymar meeting ‘only for dinner’

Neymar recently said he’d love to play alongside Lionel Messi once again

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham posted a photo alongside Brazil superstar Neymar, but attempted to tamp down any speculation by saying that the meeting was “only for dinner.”

Given Miami’s recent track record of signing copious amounts of former Barcelona stars, Neymar would appear to fit the bill as an ideal addition for the Herons — roster rules notwithstanding.

Neymar added some fuel to the fire earlier this month when he told ESPN Argentina that he would love to once again play alongside Inter Miami star Lionel Messi.

“Hopefully we can play together again,” Neymar said. “Leo is a great person, everyone knows him in football and I think he is very happy and if he is happy, I am too.”

Neymar, 32, only signed with Saudi power Al Hilal last summer, and is currently recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in October.

The Brazil star has been spotted around Miami in recent days, throwing the opening pitch at a Miami Marlins game, watching tennis at the Miami Open and partying with a host of celebs.

Beckham also got some face time in with Neymar, posting a photo on Instagram with the forward and his wife Victoria. Knowing that the picture would likely lead to even more speculation, Beckham added the caption: “Welcome to Miami my friend (only for dinner).”

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5GWN4ioUZv/

[lawrence-related id=55966,55872,53550]

Neymar and Saudi Arabia consummate their inevitable marriage

The relationship had soured between Neymar and PSG, who managed to recoup €90 million for the Brazilian

Maybe it’s easy to say in hindsight but as soon as Saudi Arabia embarked upon its summer spending bonanza, it was always likely Neymar would show up in the Gulf.

It’s no secret that PSG had been open to the prospect of the Brazilian leaving the club for some time and in the state-backed Al Hilal, the Ligue 1 side found the ideal business partner.

On Tuesday, Al Hilal confirmed the signing of Neymar from PSG in a deal worth a reported €90 million.

That’s a far cry from the world-record €222 million PSG paid to land the attacker from Barcelona six years ago, but for an oft-injured 31-year-old, it is still quite the return.

There were likely few, if any, clubs willing to pay nearly that amount, which will come as a huge relief for a club which just watched its own fans literally go to Neymar’s house and tell him to get lost.

It’s hard to say Neymar was a complete bust at PSG. That would be fairly harsh on a player who won seven major trophies, including four Ligue 1 titles, while scoring 118 times in 173 appearances.

But it is that number of 173 that will sting the Brazilian and PSG, a total that represents just over half of the available minutes since his arrival.

Another figure that will be especially painful is zero, as in the number of Champions League crowns PSG has won even after investing in the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé.

An ill-timed series of injuries for Neymar sidelined him for several years’ worth of key Champions League matches. That, combined with a perceived lack of commitment off the pitch, ultimately soured the relationship between the player and fans.

“It’s always difficult to say goodbye to a player as exceptional as Neymar, one of the best in the world,” said Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, Chairman and CEO of PSG in a statement. “I will never forget the day he arrived at Paris Saint-Germain and what he brought to our club and the project over the past six years. We lived great moments and Neymar will always be part of our history. I want to thank Neymar and his family. We wish Neymar the best for the future and his next adventure.”

Al-Khelaïfi would never say so publicly, but he is probably glad to say that Neymar is now part of the club’s history, rather than its present.

[lawrence-related id=18932,15005,22414]

Saudi Arabia would like to pay $1 billion to rent Kylian Mbappe for a year

The reported $332 million transfer fee would be an all-time record

Saudi Arabia has proposed a novel solution to PSG’s current Kylian Mbappé problem, and you will not be surprised to learn that said solution is an ungodly large sum of money.

Al Hilal, funded by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, has reportedly bid $332 million for Mbappé, and is prepared to offer an annual salary of $776 million.

For a one-year rental.

CBS Sports and the AP reported the bid, with the former confirming the contract offer as the Saudis attempt to take advantage of the impasse between PSG and its biggest star.

Mbappé has informed PSG that he will not sign an extension to his contract, which expires next summer, as he is widely expected to join Real Madrid on a free transfer when his contract expires.

In response, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said earlier this month that the superstar forward would not be allowed to stay and play out his contract before leaving on a free next summer. His only options would be to sign a new deal now, or be sold (by the way: that’s not how contracts work).

PSG escalated its war against its biggest star when it excluded Mbappé from the club’s preseason tour of Japan.

PSG may have been given a lifeline in the form of the massive Saudi bid, which, per CBS, incredibly comes with the assumption that Mbappé will leave next summer to join Madrid.

That’s right: $1 billion for one season.

Unsurprisingly, PSG has accepted the bid rather than lose Mbappé for nothing next summer, but that is far from the end of the story: ESPN has reported the 24-year-old is not interested in the Saudi offer.

The Saudis may be signing big names left and right this summer but when it comes to their two biggest targets, Mbappé and Lionel Messi, it looks like they are set to go 0-for-2.

[lawrence-related id=23863,22414,23400]

Cristiano Ronaldo almost decapitated a man and only got a yellow card

The Al Nassr star went full WWE in Tuesday’s game

Cristiano Ronaldo is in Saudi Arabia to make lots and lots of money of course, but he also would like to win some silverware.

And as that possibility begins to slip away, the Portuguese forward is starting to look a little frustrated.

As the Saudi Pro League reaches the business end of its campaign, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr side suffered a damaging 2-0 loss to Al Hilal on Tuesday.

The loss drops Al Nassr to three points behind first-place Al Ittihad, which now has a game in hand. The frustration of dropping three vital points appeared to get the best of Ronaldo in one particular second-half incident, which appeared to come straight out of WWE.

Al Hilal defender Gustavo Cuéllar was shielding Ronaldo off the ball, and the Portugal star’s solution was to simply wrap both arms around Cuéllar’s neck and attempt to separate his head from his body.

Referee Michael Oliver (yes, that Michael Oliver) decided that Ronaldo’s transgression was only worth a yellow card — a generous interpretation of the law, but one that wouldn’t help Al Nassr much on the night.

[lawrence-related id=12111,13903,12164]