Staff Reporter.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have sold captain Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a club record £47m.
The 26-year-old Portugal midfielder had a year left on his contract and leaves after six seasons at Molineux
Neves is the latest big-name player to leave a European club for Saudi Arabia’s Pro League.
Earlier this month Karim Benzema left Real Madrid for Al-Ittihad, joining former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo who signed for Al-Nassr in January.
Midfielder N’Golo Kante agreed a deal to leave Chelsea and join France team-mate Benzema at Al-Ittihad earlier this week.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy is also close to signing for Saudi Pro-League side Al Ahli while Manchester City’s Portuguese midfielder Bernado Silva is a target for Al-Hilal.
The fee paid by Al-Hilal surpasses the £41m that Wolves received for Diogo Jota when he switched to Liverpool in 2020.
It is also the biggest transfer fee paid by a Saudi Pro League side, dwarfing the reported 18m euro (£15.4m) deal that took Matheus Pereira from West Brom to Al-Hilal in 2021.
Neves, who helped Wolves gain promotion from the Championship in 2017-18 and then consolidate in the Premier League, described his time at Molineux as “an unbelievable journey” in an open letter to the club’s supporters.