‘It wasn’t a lie’ – Ruben Neves says he was close to Barcelona transfer before Al-Hilal switch
Ruben Neves has admitted he was close to a move to Barcelona before opting to leave Wolves and join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
Barcelona were heavily linked with the Portugal international, who made it very clear he would love to play for the Catalans.
Neves has now opened up on the speculation and claims a move to Barcelona nearly happened.
“I was close to three clubs and finally it didn’t happen, which made me sad and helped me make the decision to go to Al Hilal,” he told O Jogo.
“I didn’t want to say names, but Barcelona was one of the hottest and it wasn’t a lie. It was about to happen, as happened with Arsenal. Then there was another club outside of England.”
Al-Hilal ended up paying around £47m to Wolves for Neves – a fee out of Barca’s reach – and he has gone to become a regular for Al-Hilal who sit top of the Saudi Pro League.
