Ruben Neves is set to join Al-Hilal, with talks progressing after the Saudi side’s £47m bid…despite the Wolves captain reaching an agreement with Barcelona last month
- Al-Hilal have submitted a £47 million bid to sign Wolves captain Ruben Neves
- Neves had seen a mooted move to Barcelona stall despite agreement on terms
- Move would mean the highest transfer fee Wolves have ever received for a player
Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal have submitted a £47 million bid to sign Wolves star Ruben Neves.
The Wolves captain looked poised for a transfer to Barcelona, with the player even agreeing with the Catalan club last month, but negotiations between the two sides failed to materialize.
This is according to a report from the Spanish publication RelevBarcelona’s interest in the 26-year-old was more at the insistence of agent Jorge Mendes, with the club ultimately opting to prioritize other targets in midfield.
With the move to Barca floundering, Al-Hilal resolutely entered the race to sign the Portugal international.
Personal terms between the player and the Riyadh club are currently underway, but Neves is weighing his options with a number of clubs interested in the midfielder.
Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal have made a £47 million bid for Wolves captain Ruben Neves
The 26-year-old is considering his options as he serves internationally with Portugal
If completed to the reported amount, the transfer will surpass the £42 million Liverpool paid for Diogo Jota in 2020 as the highest transfer fee the club has ever received for a player.
Neves joined Wolves in 2017, and in his first season at Molineux, he was instrumental in helping the club win the Championship under Nuno Espirito Santo and gain promotion to the Premier League.
Since then, the former Porto star has remained an integral part of the team, being handed the armband by Bruno Lage at the start of the season, leading the club to a 13th-place finish and finishing as his side’s joint top goalscorer in the Premier League. Premier League.
Should Neves make the move to the Saudi Pro League, he would join superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and more recently Karim Benzema in the country.
At Al-Hilal, he was able to count former Premier League stars Matheus Pereira and Andre Carrillo as teammates at the 68,000 seat King Fahd International Stadium.
The club has won a record four AFC Champions League titles and recently made headlines for their attempts to sign Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, offering the Belgium international a reported £21 million a year contract.
The Jeddah-based club finished runners-up in the 2023 AFC Champions League final