Neymar swapped PSG for Saudi Al-Hilal in August 2023 and disappeared from the scene. In just his fifth match for his new team, he tore his cruciate ligament in his knee and has been struggling with the injury ever since. Over the course of a year, more was written in Saudi Arabia about the Brazilian's affairs, betrayals and children than about his football.
On Friday, September 13, social media was hit with a rather shocking report that the 32-year-old was close to a sensational change of club. However, it was not another giant, but Schalke 04 Gelsenkirchen from the 2nd Bundesliga.
Neymar's Sensational Transfer to Schalke 04? Another Hacker Attack
On the “Neymar Jr Site” profile on the X service, a rather unexpected entry appeared. “I will officially play for Schalke in the next ten matches. The contract is sponsored by Solana” – we read on the profile. This information could be ignored, because the alleged profile is not the official one used by the Brazilian.
The information was passed on and repeated by… Schalke itself. The official profile of the seven-time German champions published the news that Neymar will actually play for them. How is that even possible? The German daily “Bild” explained everything.
According to the source, it wasn't the club that wanted to make fun of this information, but hackers. It's not the first time they've recently taken over the account of a 2nd Bundesliga club and they're happy to take advantage of it. Neymar's unofficial profile was also allegedly attacked, hence the whole mess. The entry has since disappeared from the club's account, and for the rest of Friday, only real information appeared on it.
“Bild” indicates that hackers are apparently using Schalke's account to sell and advertise a “suspicious cryptocurrency” that is supposed to be “Solana”. A few days ago, Schalke allegedly shared a post trying to push this product on fans, but this was also the work of hackers. As with the post with Neymar, it was deleted.
Neymar's contract with Al-Hilal runs until June 2025. According to recent reports, the Brazilian will not return to action until the new year, which does not bode well for a successful career in Saudi Arabia. Unless he decides to extend his contract.