It’s heartbreaking: A very loyal Wolverham Wanderers player has announced his sudden retirement, sending a powerful statement and bidding the team and supporters a heartfelt farewell.
Captain Ruben Neves of Wolves has confirmed his move to Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia for a club record £47 million.
Throughout his six seasons at Molineux, the Portugal midfielder made 253 appearances and scored 30 goals.
In a tearful video that was uploaded to the Premier League team’s Twitter account, Neves said he had created “thousands of memories which will last forever.”
“Ruben is the embodiment of everything you look for when trying to bring players into a football club: a leader, a humble man, and an extremely talented footballer who took Wolves to a different level,” Wolves sporting director Matt Hobbs stated on the team’s website.
“He will go down as one of our best ever players and was a part of a great era for this club.”
“We hope the best for him and his family in the future and are appreciative of everything he has done for Wolves.”
After joining Wolves from Porto, Neves, who still had one year left on his deal, helped the team win the Sky Bet Championship in 2018.
In addition to an FA Cup semifinal in 2019 and the Europa League quarterfinals in 2020, the 26-year-old then led Wanderers to two straight seventh-place finishes in the top flight.
He becomes the most recent well-known individual to relocate to Saudi Arabia.
This month, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante completed their free transfers to Al Ittihad, and in December, Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr.
In a video that Wolves shared on social media just before revealing the deal, Neves sobbed and found it difficult to control his feelings.
“Wolves, six seasons, 253 games, Championship champions, five years of Premier League football, our trip to Europe, an FA Cup semifinal, and some incredible victories,” he uttered.
“And thousands of enduring memories—what an incredible journey it has been.” Along the way, I’ve collaborated with so many amazing people.
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