Wolves have agreed to sell captain Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal for 55 million euros (£47 million).

Neves, a 26-year-old Portuguese midfielder, has one year left on his contract.

He stated at the close of last season that he was ambitious in the face of attention from Barcelona.

However, Barcelona has been unable to make a suitable offer, and Neves has chosen to become the next high-profile player to join the Saudi league.

Karim Benzema joined Al Ittihad on a free transfer this month, while Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante has been linked with a move, while Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in December.

Wolves see it as good business at a time when they are attempting to raise finances to help manager Julen Lopetegui bolster his squad.

Since arriving from Porto in 2017, Neves has been instrumental in their progress.

He helped them win the Championship the following year, followed by two consecutive seventh-place finishes in the Premier League.

The team also reached the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020, where they were eliminated by Lopetegui’s Sevilla, but have struggled to reproduce that success, finishing 13th last season after being bottom at the start of the season.
Neves has appeared in 253 games for Wolves in all competitions, scoring 30 goals.