Wolves have revealed the departure of midfielder and captain Ruben Neves, who has joined Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal for a club-record fee.
The 26-year-old’s contract had only one year remaining when he decided to take his skills to Saudi Arabia instead of staying in Europe, earning Wolves a fee of about £45 million.
An emotional Neves confirmed his departure with a video message to Wolves fans.
He said: “Wolves. Six seasons. 253 games. Champions of the Championship. Five years of Premier League football. An FA Cup semi-final. Our European adventure and some huge wins. 30 goals. 13 assists. Thousands of memories that will last forever. What an unbelievable journey.
“I cannot thank you enough for the welcome. I cannot thank you enough for the way you treat me and mainly for the way you adopted my family as one of your own. The way you support the team is unreal.
“I was surprised when I came at the start of the Championship season, and now, I will be one of you, a massive fan, for life.
“It really feels like home here, and we will never, ever forget you. Six years is a long way, a long time. My kids grew up in Wolverhampton. They were so happy here. Me and my lovely wife will never forget the time we had here as a family.
“I hope we can keep this big connection. I leave as a player, but I will always be a wolf. No matter what. Thank you for everything.”
🎬 من معقل "الذئـاب" إلى #كبير_آسيا 💙#الهلال pic.twitter.com/lAsh8CWCfX
— نادي الهلال السعودي (@Alhilal_FC) June 23, 2023
Neves joins an Al Hilal team that is also attempting to finalize a deal for Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly. The Saudi club has also made a sizable contract offer to Bernardo Silva of Manchester City in an effort to lure him to the Middle East.