Wolves captain Neves joins Saudi Arabia exodus
Wolverhampton Wanderers captain Ruben Neves is the latest high-profile player to move to Saudi Arabia after joining Al-Hilal for a £47 million ($59.7 million) transfer fee.
The fee is a record for English Premier League team Wolves.
The 26-year-old Portuguese midfielder follows in the footsteps of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, who completed free transfers to Al-Ittihad earlier this month, while Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al-Nassr in December.
Neves, who scored 30 goals in 253 appearances over six seasons with Wolves, wiped away tears in an emotional video posted to the club’s Twitter account, saying he had made “thousands of memories that will last forever”.
“Ruben is the epitome of everything you look for when you’re trying to bring players to a football club: a leader, a humble man and an extremely talented footballer who has taken Wolves to another level,” said sporting director Matt Hobbs on the club’s website.
“He was part of a great era for this club and will go down in history as one of our greatest ever players. We are grateful for everything he has done for Wolves and wish him and his family all the very best for the future.”
“I will always be a wolf. I’ll see you on the South Bank one day. pic.twitter.com/IcYoEPda9T
— Wolves (@Wolves) June 23, 2023
Neves, who had one year left on his contract, was part of the Wolves team that won the second tier title in 2018 after moving from Porto.
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