PSG Owner Says Neymar's Presentation Was Watched by 85 Million People in Brazil
Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has claimed 85 million people in Brazil watched Neymar's unveiling at the Parc des Princes in August after he was signed from Barcelona.
The Brazilian superstar moved to PSG in a world-record £200 million signing, and Al-Khelaifi admitted to being amazed at the number of people he was told watched the 25-year-old being presented, per Jason Burt in the Telegraph: "I spoke to the owner of Globo TV in Brazil, and he said, 'Guess how much people in Brazil watched the presentation of Neymar—just the presentation, not the first match.' I said, '5 million.' He said, 'No.' I said, '10 million?' He said, 'No—85 million.' It's amazing."
PSG also signed 18-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe on loan from Monaco during the summer transfer window, adding further to their already stellar front line.
Al-Khelaifi explained that, as a result of adding new superstars to the squad, PSG now face the challenge of not having enough shirts to sell, per Burt: "Today we have a good problem to solve—we don't have enough jerseys! This is huge for us. I was in the U.S. last week, and I saw the jersey of Paris Saint-Germain everywhere. It is the same in Asia and Latin America, the Middle East."
The signing of Neymar was a huge statement of intent by PSG that they have ambitions of becoming one of the biggest clubs in the world who will compete for the UEFA Champions League.
Neymar has not disappointed in his opening games for PSG and has already registered four goals and four assists in four Ligue 1 matches, per WhoScored.com.
PSG will hope his form continues when they begin their 2017-18 Champions League campaign at Celtic on Tuesday.
