Arsenal are now close to saying goodbye to Gabriel Martinelli, with Al Hilal advancing towards a deal worth up to €65m (£56m) for the Brazilian.
ESPN Brazil reports the agreement has reached the document-exchange stage and should be made official soon. Martinelli is expected to sign a four-year contract with Al Hilal.
That is the major development. Yet there is also some insight from Brazil into how Al Hilal managed to get Martinelli on board.
What attracted Martinelli to Al Hilal
The Saudi club’s financial offer has obviously played its part. ESPN says Martinelli and those around him also considered the quality of life available in Saudi Arabia when assessing the move.
Those two factors gave Al Hilal an advantage over the other opportunities presented to the Arsenal player. His family and representatives have been studying the possibilities alongside him. They ultimately had no objections to the Middle East option.
That’s important because we learned Martinelli has been selective about his next step. He wasn’t really looking to leave Arsenal at the first opportunity, despite the club forcing him out – a move that caused some discomfort.
Al Hilal therefore had to convince the forward that their project worked for him personally as well as financially. And they appear to have done exactly that.
Money speaks louder
Globo Esporte say Al Hilal were the only club to actually convince Martinelli to move this summer, despite the forward receiving approaches from several sides.
The Brazilian has now given his full approval to the transfer and agreed a contract running until 2030.
The financial incentive is considerable. Exact figures are being kept private, but the information behind the scenes is that Martinelli will become one of the highest-paid Brazilian footballers in the world. Only Vinicius Junior is expected to earn more.
Al Hilal have room to make that kind of commitment after Malcom’s departure for Al Jazira. He had reportedly been earning around €15.5m (£13.3m) a year, and Martinelli is expected to arrive on an even more valuable package.
That makes it easier to understand why this particular approach succeeded where the others didn’t. A four-year agreement would also represent a major commitment from Martinelli. At 25, he would be giving Al Hilal a considerable portion of what should be his peak years.
Arsenal and player now heading in same direction
The player has looked at what Al Hilal can offer him and decided the move works from his side as well. Now the numbers appear to work for Arsenal too.
ESPN Brasil says the overall deal can reach €65m (£56m). That’s a huge return with Martinelli’s contract due to expire in June 2027. And the paperwork stage suggests there isn’t much left to resolve.
Globo Esporte says they’re discussing the final transfer fee, performance-related bonuses and the payment structure.
Despite those details still being negotiated, the deal is viewed internally as imminent. Martinelli’s desire to make the move is helping push everything towards a conclusion.
Al Hilal’s approach ultimately seems to have worked because they gave Martinelli reasons to view Saudi Arabia as an opportunity, and not as an exit route from Arsenal.
