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Rúben Neves
Al Hilal SFC نادي الهلال Football PLAYER
Ruben Neves is a defensive midfielder who now plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal and the Portuguese National team. As of his latest transfer, Neves is 26 years old. He started his playing career at FC Porto, joining the club’s youth system at the age of eight. He then moved to the Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers where he played for six seasons. During his time at Wolves, Neves had significant contributions including helping the team win the Championship in 2018 and achieving two consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight. He also aided the team in reaching the FA Cup semi-final in 2019 and the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020. After an emotional farewell to Wolves, Neves completed a record move to Al-Hilal, joining the ranks of high-profile players moving to Saudi Arabia.
| Full Name: | Rúben Diogo da Silva Neves |
| Date of Birth: | March 13, 1997 (26) |
| Country: | Portugal |
| Place of Birth: | Santa Maria da Feira |
| Current Club: | Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club (Arabic: نادي الهلال; The Crescent) |
| Current International: | Portugal |
| Playing Position: | Defensive Midfield |
| Height: | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Weight: | 80kg |
| Foot: | Right |
Ruben Neves Seals Record Transfer to Al-Hilal
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ captain, Ruben Neves, has completed his move to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal for a club record £47m. The Portuguese midfielder, in his six seasons with Wolves, became a key player, scoring 30 goals in 253 appearances and leaving a significant imprint on the club’s history.
Shortly before the announcement, Neves shared an emotional video on the club’s Twitter account, expressing his gratitude to the Wolves. “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,” he said. “And thousands of memories which will last forever, what an unbelievable journey”.
The Wolves sporting director, Matt Hobbs, acknowledged Neves’ contribution, stating, “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”
Neves, who had one year remaining on his contract, was an integral part of the Wolves team that won the Championship in 2018 following his move from Porto. The 26-year-old helped Wanderers to achieve two consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the top flight, along with an FA Cup semi-final in 2019 and the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020.
Neves joins the ranks of high-profile players moving to Saudi Arabia, following Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté’s transfers to Al-Ittihad and Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr in December.
As he embarks on this new journey, the Wolves express their gratitude for his contributions and wish him and his family the best for the future.
Style of Play
Ruben Neves is a right-footed defensive midfielder who is not afraid to prompt attacks and also disciplined enough not to forget his defensive duties. He is an excellent player with great vision, exceptional passing abilities, technical and mental skills. One of his outstanding attributes is his ability to shoot accurately from long distances, which has helped him score a number of goals so far in his career.
- Ruben Neves made his international debut on November 10, 2015, against Russia.
- Ruben Neves has made a total of 251 appearances for Wolverhampton Wanderers, scoring 30 goals.
- During the 2022/23 season, he played in 39 matches, where he was in the starting eleven 36 times and was substituted in once
- Neves has so far played 272 club football matches, scoring 24 goals and claiming 13 assists. He collected 52 yellow cards and one red card during those games, resulting from two yellow cards.
- He has played a total of 25,400 minutes of football at the club level.
- Ruben Neves is married, and he has three kids.
- Neves made the team of the tournament for the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.
- He was part of the 2017/2018 EFL Team of the Season.
- Neves was also named as part of the 2017/2018 Championship PFA Team of the Year.
- Neves has made 232 tackles and 196 interceptions since his Premier League debut.
- Ruben Neves made 16th position in the highest number of passes in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season.
- He is the 6th player with the most tackles in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season with 86 tackles.
- Neves is in 12th position in the most fouls committed in the Premier League in the 2020/21 season with 46 fouls.
- Off the field, Neves is a family man. He’s married to Débora Lourenço, and they have three children together – one daughter and two sons
Interesting Facts
Club Career
Neves was promoted to FC Porto Under-15 in July 2010 when he was only 13. However, he soon had to go on loan to Padroense between July 2012 and January 2013, where he spent his Under-16 days.
He later got back into the FC Porto Under-17 team in January 2013. However, he had to wait until August 15, 2014, at the age of 17 and five months before he made his debut for the FC Porto senior squad following his call-up to join the main squad’s preseason after an injury sustained by Mikel Agu.
Your Title Goes HerAl-Hilal Saudi Football Club - نادي الهلال;
Ruben Neves joined Al-Hilal, one of the premier football clubs in Saudi Arabia, in a record transfer deal worth £47m in 2023. His move to Al-Hilal marks a significant step in his career, as he joins the ranks of other high-profile players who have recently moved to Saudi Arabia. Despite his recent arrival, Neves’ impressive track record, leadership qualities, and footballing talents are expected to make a substantial impact in his new team and in the Saudi league as a whole.
Wolverhampton (2017-2023)
Ruben Neves, the 26-year-old (born on 13.03.1993), on July 8, 2017, Neves, then 20, signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers for an undisclosed fee. At that time, Wolverhampton were still a Championship club. Neves played 42 Championship matches for them, helping them secure promotion to the Premier League. He scored six times that season, earning the club’s player of the year award and players’ player of the year award. He was also rewarded with the club’s goal of the season award. Following his performance that season, Neves was included in the Championship team of the season. In addition, he was nominated for both the Championship Player of the Season award and the Young Player of the Season award. The EFL also awarded Neves with the Championship goal of the season award for his goal against Derby in April 2018.
Following his performance, he was offered a new deal just within a year after he joined the Wolves, and he signed a new five-year contract. However, it was later revealed that the agreement would span until 2024.
So far, Neves has played a total of 112 Premier League matches for Wolverhampton, scoring 11 times, and he has helped the club remain in the Premier League since 2018. In total, Neves has appeared in 179 matches for the Molineux side, and he has scored 20 goals during those periods.
His club career stats mean he has played 272 matches in total- 93 for FC Porto and 179 for Wolverhampton. During those 272 matches, he has scored 24 goals.
As of the 2022/2023 season, Neves played in 39 matches, scoring 6 goals and providing 1 assist. In the Premier League, he played in 36 matches, scored 1 goal, and spent 2889 minutes on the pitch1.
Recent news reveals that Neves, the Wolves captain, has expressed his desire to play in the Champions League amid uncertainty around his future with the club. His contract with Wolves expires at the end of the next season. Despite expressing his love for the club and feeling at home there, Neves acknowledges that the decision about his future will be a challenging one. He has always been open about his ambition to play Champions League football.
Neves, who has been linked with potential moves to Manchester United and Barcelona, thanked everyone for the last six seasons with Wolverhampton. Wolves coach, Julen Lopetegui, praised Neves for an excellent season and expressed his satisfaction that Neves still has a contract with the club.
FC Porto (2014-2017)
His debut came in Porto’s 2-0 victory over Maritimo in the Primeira Liga, where Neves got on the scoresheet. He automatically became the youngest player to score for the club in the competition (on 15 August 2014, he was 17 years and 5 months).
Neves soon made his UEFA Champions League debut, just five days after starring in his Primeira debut. Porto played against Lille and won 1-0. Neves set another record on the day to become the youngest Portuguese to feature in the Champions League- a record previously held by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Neves later got injured in December 2014 following a collision with Alex Teixeira during a Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk. He suffered a sprain, as a result, leading to internal lateral ligament damage on his right knee. He was out for about a month, but on getting back, he already lost his place to Casemiro, who filled in for him during his absence. Casemiro was on loan at Porto from Real Madrid at that time.
Neves was only 18 years and 221 days when he broke Rafael van der Vaart’s 2003 record for the youngest player to captain in a Champions League match after he captained Porto to a 2-0 victory over Maccabi Tel Aviv on October 20, 2015. The next record he would break was on December 5, 2015, where he became the youngest player to have played 50 matches for FC Porto.
Neves made a total of 93 appearances for Porto in all competitions, where he scored four times before he signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Fifty-nine (59) of those appearances came in the Primeira Liga with three goals. In addition, he made seven appearances each in the Taça De Portugal and Allianz Cup. He played 20 times in Europe for Porto- 18 in the Champions League and Two in the Europa League.
Portugal
International Career-
Ruben Neves started his international career with the Portugal Under-16, where he made 10 appearances between 2012 and 2013. He then played 31 times for the Under-17 team between 2012 and 2014, where he led the team as a captain to the 2014 UEFA European Under-17 tournament. Unfortunately, Portugal could only reach the semi-final of the tournament. He also played for the country’s Under-18 team briefly in 2013, playing two matches.
Neves then proceeded into the Under-21, where he played 23 times, scoring four goals. He played once for the Under-23 team before making his senior debut for Portugal in 2015, and he has played 22 times so far.
His first match for the senior team was against Russia in November 2015, and then he played again for the country a few days later against Luxembourg. In 2018, Neves couldn’t make the 23-man squad for the 2016 UEFA European Championship or the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.
Neves was part of the Portuguese National Team squad to win the 2019 UEFA Nations League. He started in the 3-1 semi-final win over Switzerland and came on as a substitute in added time in the 1-0 win over Netherlands.
Ruben Neves Honours
Winner: 2017/2018 EFL Championship
Winner: 2018/2019 UEFA Nations League
Runner-up: 2015 UEFA Under-21 European Championship
Career Statistics in Numbers:
Updated: end of season 2022/2023
|
Competitions |
Appearances |
Goals |
|
Primeira Liga |
59 |
3 |
|
Taça De Portugal |
7 |
1 |
|
Allianz Cup |
7 |
0 |
|
UEFA Champions League |
18 |
0 |
|
UEFA Europa League |
2 |
0 |
|
TOTAL |
93 |
4 |
|
Competitions |
Appearances |
Goals |
|
Championship |
42 |
6 |
|
Premier League |
176 |
21 (9 assists) |
|
FA Cup |
14 |
1 |
|
League Cup |
7 |
0 |
|
UEFA Europa League |
13 |
2 |
| Competition | Appearances | Goals |
| National Team senior | 39 | – (2 assists) |
| Portugal M21 | 23 | 4 |
| Portugal U18 | 2 | – |
| Portugal U17 | 33 | 2 |
| Portugal U16 | 10 | 1 |
| Portugal Olympic | 2 | 1 |
| Portugal U15 |
2 | – |
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