Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia Acquires Ruben Neves from the Wolves

The English Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement to sell Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in a deal that is reportedly for 55 million euros ($60 million).

Wolves released a statement saying that no other player had “made such an impact on the pitch in gold and black during the last six years” with more than 250 appearances during that time in the club’s history.

Since his arrival in 2017, Neves has made 253 appearances for Wolves and scored 30 goals.

He assisted them achieve their promotion from the Championship the following season as well as their two consecutive seventh-place Premier League finishes.

Wolves also advanced to the quarterfinals of the Europa League in 2020, but they have been unable to repeat that performance and placed 13th in the previous campaign.

Saudi Arabia, the conservative Gulf monarchy that is routinely criticized for its record on human rights, has quickly emerged as a major force in international sports thanks to its oil wealth, spending billions of dollars in the process.

In what is anticipated to be the first of many moves for European talents, Karim Benzema moved to the Saudi Pro League earlier this month, joining his former Real Madrid colleague Cristiano Ronaldo.

N’Golo Kante, a World Cup-winning midfielder for France, rejected a contract extension at Chelsea in order to team up with Benzema at Al-Ittihad.

However, unlike prior transfers made for players at the end of their careers, Neves, 26, still has his best years in front of him.