How much will Ruben Neves earn at Al-Hilal? Portuguese superstar set to bag staggering wages in Saudi Arabia
Wolverhampton Wanderers have reportedly agreed to sell their star midfielder Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal. The player is expected to earn eye-popping wages if he joins Ballon d'Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia.
As per Sky Sports, Wolves are prepared to sell Neves to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal for £47 million this summer. Personal terms are not expected to be a problem, as Neves is open to the move. The 26-year-old initially wanted to join La Liga side Barcelona, but the Blaugrana failed to table a formal offer.
According to The Sun, Ruben Neves will earn an estimated £300,000 a week at Al-Hilal. Since Neves’ salary would not be impacted by taxes, any Premier League club would have to pay double that amount to match the midfielder’s take-home salary. As per Spotrac, he earns £50,000 a week at the Molineux.
Toward the end of the 2022-23 season, Neves expressed his desire to play Champions League football, telling Sky Sports:
“Let's see what's going to happen. I always say the same thing, I truly love to be here. But I never hide that I want to play Champions League football.”
He was linked with Manchester United as well as Barcelona but both deals ended up stalling. Now, as per reports, he will bid European football goodbye after a six-season stay in England.
Neves, whose Wolves contract expires in 2024, has been at the club since joining from Porto in July 2017. He has played 253 games across competitions, scoring 30 times.
Which teams have Ruben Neves represented?
Ruben Neves joined Porto’s youth team in 2005 when he was only eight. He rose up through the ranks to make his Primeira Liga debut in 2014.
An agile and tactically-sound defensive midfielder, Neves became a regular for Porto and made 93 appearances for them between the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons. He joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for €17.9 million in July 2017.
Neves made his Portugal senior team debut in November 2015 under former coach Fernando Santos. Since then, he has made 40 senior team appearances, including five in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The midfielder is still searching for his first international goal but has provided three assists.