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Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves has officially joined Saudi giants Al Hilal and his signing was met with astonishment from the fans.
Neves has become the latest huge signing for the Saudi Professional League, which continues its assault on Europe. Portuguese native Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in the Middle East in January to join Al Nasr. It sparked a Saudi lust for European talent.
The 26-year-old joined Al-Hilal in a £47m deal which is a good result for Wolves as he remains on his contract for a year. The Portugal international signed a three-year deal with Al-Za’eem.
Neves has been linked with La Liga giants Barcelona but TalkSPORT reports he has opted to head to Saudi Arabia. He was frustrated by the amount of time the Blaugrana had been chasing.
He has always been considered one of the best midfielders in the Premier League as he has great passing abilities. He also has an eye for goal, having scored some sensational hits over the years at Molineux.
Neves was emotional in his farewell address to the Wolves in a video posted to their Twitter account. He told the Wanderers fans:
“Wolves, six seasons, 253 games, EFL champions, five years of Premier League football, an FA Cup semi-final, a European adventure. 30 goals, 13 assists and thousands of memories that will last forever.”
The Portuguese joined the English Premier League club in 2017 from Portuguese club Porto. He went on to score 30 goals and provide 13 assists in 253 appearances across competitions. He was instrumental in their promotion to the English Premier League in the 2017-18 season.
Neves is now heading to Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, who is set to sign Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly. Al-Za’eem They finished third in the Saudi Professional League last season and are looking forward to competing for the title next time.
However, the signing of Neves did not go over well with the fans as many mock him for moving to Saudi Arabia at his age. One fan replied:
“Retire before me, boy.”
Another believes that football is deteriorating amid the Saudi Professional League’s continued pursuit of European famous names:
Football is slowly dying.
Here is Twitter’s reaction to the Portuguese international’s transfer to Al Hilal:
The new Neves club, Al-Hilal, missed the inclusion of Lionel Messi
Al-Hilal seemed on its way to winning the race for Argentine star Lionel Messi out of contract this summer. The Saudi giants have reportedly offered the legendary forward €500m (£430bn) an annual salary.
However, Messi made up his mind and decided to join MLS team Inter Miami after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired. It was a blow to Ramon Diaz’s side as he had been coveting the Barcelona icon for months.
The 35-year-old was coming off an exciting year that saw him win the FIFA World Cup. He even added fuel to the flames regarding the move to Al-Hilal when he visited Saudi Arabia in early May.
However, the Argentine icon decided a move to the US was the best option, even ignoring former club Barcelona. He had doubts about the Blaugrana’s financial situation.
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