Mumbai FC players and coaching staff could not hide their excitement the moment the team drew Al Hilal on Thursday, realising that it could pave the way for them to rub shoulders with one of the world's best players in the group stage of the continental club showpiece
Al Hilal, the third-place finishers in the 2022-23 Saudi Pro League, had recently signed Neymar, a former Barcelona FC star -- with whom he won the UEFA Champions League title. His last club stint was at Paris Saint German, alongside Messi and Kylian Mbappe
Neymar's new Saudi club is also the most successful team in the AFC Champions League history, having won the title four times, besides being runners-up on five occasions
Al Hilal have bolstered their squad for the upcoming season with some big-name signings including Neymar Jr, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Yassine Bounou and Aleksandar Mitrovic. The group stage of the AFC Champions League is a home-and-away affair and thus it will be interesting to see if Neymar is seen in action at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune, Mumbai City FC's home venue
If Neymar travels to Pune, it would be an opportunity of a lifetime for Indian fans to catch a glimpse of him playing in the country. FC Nassaji Mazandaran of Iran and PFC Navbahor Namangan of Uzbekistan are the other two sides in Group D
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