He says that Aziz (6 years old) and Leena (10 years old) were waiting for him in front of the door of the house, when he returned from work, and he had to leave immediately. Patient, Ayman (40 years old) is queuing in front of one of the checkouts with his “child” size swimsuits under his arm and the reason for his presence does not call for question.
Almost all the customers who stock the official store of Al-Hilal, west of the Saudi capital, have come for a very particular tunic: that of Neymar, whose arrival the Riyadh club officially announced on Tuesday, in early evening. “My son followed the news of his transfer on social media every day, Ayman continues. We can’t wait to see him on the pitch and hopefully he will be spared from injury. »
More than 10,000 jerseys sold in seven hours
As soon as the club displayed the ex-Parisian, who will be presented on Saturday evening at the stadium, with his new colors on its social networks, the “Al-Hilal Store” experienced exceptional crowds throughout the evening. And this frenzy will certainly continue in the days to come. “It was the first time I saw that.says one of the employees. The store was always full until closing time, around midnight. » The manager refuses to give figures but another employee explains that online sales of the number 10 shirt, on the club’s commercial application, reached 10,000 units in seven hours, after the club formalized his transfer .
“I just bought the last one that was in my size”
Mohammed, who traveled 700 km to buy this shirt
Some even traveled a long way to find the famous piece, displayed at 259 riyals (63 euros) on the shelves. Nearly 700 km, round trip, for Mohammed (30) and his wife Manar (25), who came from the province of Al-Qassim, in the heart of the country. “I just bought the last one that was in my sizeMohammad explains. If you had told me about Neymar at Al-Hilal last year, frankly, I would have burst out laughing. But now I hope other stars will continue to come to our Championship. »
Many people came to buy Neymar’s jersey in the official store of the Saudi club Al Hilal on August 16, 2023. (J. Lempin/L’Équipe)
For his part, Ahmed (40) waits with… four “Ney” jerseys in his hand. “For my two boys and my two girlshe smiles. My kids drove me crazy last night when they saw on Tiktok that the transfer was official. And this afternoon, they made me leave my job to come to the store. Myself, I still can’t believe he’s going to play for us. »