The Neymar (31) era at Paris Saint-Germain is over. The Brazilian playmaker has left the French capital to join PIF-funded Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Hilal this week.
In a rather unexpected turn of events, given Neymar’s injury history, Les Parisiens have been able to recoup some of the record-breaking €222m they paid six years ago. Indeed, it is reported that Al-Hilal’s outlay for Neymar is close to the €100m mark.
Neymar turned up at PSG’s brand-new Poissy training centre this Thursday to say his goodbyes to his now-former teammates. It has also transpired today that PSG’s new winger Ousmane Dembélé (26) has inherited his shirt number at PSG, the No. 10. On the Ligue 1 champions’ official online shop, the France international is associated with the #10 jersey. It is not the first time that Dembélé picks up the Brazilian’s old shirt number. When Neymar traded Barcelona for PSG in 2017, his #11 jersey with the Blaugranas fell to Dembélé, who had just joined from Dortmund in a €135m move. The former Stade Rennais youth product is expected to feature this Saturday night at Toulouse in his first competitive outing with Les Parisiens.
When Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain, leaving the iconic No10 vacant, it didn't take long for it to be snapped up. And the lucky man is now known: the latest addition to the Red & Blue squad, Ousmane Dembélé.
This is the very first time in his career that Ousmane Dembélé will wear the number 10 on his shirt. He wore the number 23 at Rennes, then the number 7 at Dortmund, and finally the numbers 11 and 7 at Barcelona. With the French national team, he has always worn the number 11, which was taken by Marco Asensio.
The nuumber 10 is a number rich in history, worn by some of the club's greatest legends: Rai, Ronaldinho, Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Pastore, Susic... "I know what this number represents, and I'll wear it with pride. The 10 is magic," he says in the short video published by the club.