Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokoumpo might be ready to switch sports and take his talents to the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
About a month after the two-time NBA MVP offered himself to Saudi Arabian football club Al-Hilal, the club presented Antetokounmpo with his customized jersey bearing his name and number alongside a package with a welcome card.
Your jersey is ready @Giannis_An34
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN) August 16, 2023
Welcome “GIANNIS” to our family 🔵⚪️#AlHilal 💙 pic.twitter.com/wD7tIcLiWM
The Riyadh-based club shared photos of the welcome package in their English account on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
The 2021 NBA Finals MVP hilariously presented himself to Al-Hilal nearly a month ago after reports emerged about the Saudi Professional League club offering French football star Kylian Mbappe a single-season salary of $776 million for the 2023-24 campaign, coupled with a $332 million transfer fee to be paid to his current club Paris Saint-Germain amid a contract standoff between the 24-year-old and the French club.
Mbappe found Antetokounmpo's proposal amusing, quoting the tweet with a barrage of laughing emojis.
Al-Hilal previously offered a three-year contract worth $1.6 billion to Argentine icon Lionel Messi, which he rejected in favor of a move to MLS club Inter Miami.
The club subsequently turned its attention to Mbappe, who also rejected even a sitdown with club delegates, before finally convincing the third member of PSG's strikeforce for the past two seasons, Neymar Jr., to join the team earlier this week.
Antetokounmpo celebrated Al-Hilal's acquisition of the Brazilian star forward by calling himself and Neymar the best duo in the Saudi Pro League, posting a picture of them together, which was taken in early 2020 when the Bucks visited Paris for the NBA Global Games, where they defeated the Charlotte Hornets.
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Antetokounmpo's contract with the Bucks is not cheap
Despite being enamored with the riches that several Saudi Arabian clubs offer, Antetokoumpo probably does not need money.
The 28-year-old signed a five-year supermax extension with the Milwaukee Bucks worth $228 million in late 2020. The deal took effect in the 2021-22 NBA season, and it will keep the seven-time All-Star tied in Milwaukee until at least 2024-25, with 2025-26 being a player option.
Antetokoumpo was the seventh highest-paid player in the league last season, and his current deal is the fourth-largest NBA contract of all time in terms of overall value as of 2023, according to Boardroom.
So far, the 7-foot Greek has total career earnings of $190 million, and he is still set to make $146 million over the next three seasons as part of his Bucks contract.
American sportswear giant Nike also signed Antetokounmpo to a long-term deal in 2017, which was reported to have paid the Greek around $10 million annually.
Nike has released five editions of the Bucks star's "Zoom Freak" signature line and a secondary shoe line called "Giannis Immortality."
Giannis' Nike shoes are among the most popular sneakers worn by players in the league today.
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