After Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, the Saudi football league has successfully attracted another big-money top player. Ruben Neves, 26 years old and Portuguese international, is moving from Wolverhampton Wanderers from the English Premier League to record champions Al-Hilal.
Neves is said to cost 55 million euros, the Wolves stated that it is the highest transfer fee in the club’s history.
Unlike Ronaldo (38), Benzema (35) and Kante (32), Neves is not at the end of his career. The defensive midfielder was most recently captain of Wanderers, for whom he played for six years after moving from FC Porto.
He appeared for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and most recently in the European Championship qualifiers. Neves has played 41 international matches so far.
His compatriot Ronaldo plays for Al-Nassr FC, while Benzema joins Al-Ittihad Klub from Real Madrid, where he meets Kante. Neves has signed a contract with Al-Hilal until 2026.