“This time for real, he’s staying’ – Gerard Pique has finally secured the future of Neymar Junior seven years after the Brazilian made his words go down in history. The former Barcelona defender seemed to address rumours linking Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain by publishing a tweet saying ‘se queda’, only for Neymar to smash the transfer record in the following weeks with a €222m move to the French giants.

Pique probably didn’t pay quite that much for his services this time, but he will be part of his new Kings League project, after Pique announced that there would be a Kings League World Cup. The event will take place in Mexico in the summer of 2024 between the 25th of May and the 9th of June, consisting of 32 teams: 10 from the Kings League Americas, 10 from Spain, and 12 ‘invited’ sides, as per Cadena SER.

Neymar’s exact role is unclear as streamers Allan and Gaules will be taking charge of the two Brazilian teams, but he will be supporting his compatriots, as well as bringing his star power to the event. Currently Neymar is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in September, and it is not yet clear whether he will be back in action for Al-Hilal by that point.

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