Former Wolves star signed by Julen Lopetegui has just hit a career first months after leaving club

Wolves lost a lot of players in the summer, with Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri taking the headlines, but the loss of Pablo Sarabia has certainly been felt.

The Spaniard signed for the club in January 2023 under then-manager Julen Lopetegui for a nominal fee of just £4.4 million.

In his first full season, under the tenure of Gary O’Neil, Sarabia played an influential role for Wolves, getting a combined 11 goals and assists in the Premier League.

The following season, he had less of an impact, getting just 1,062 minutes compared to the 2,168 minutes he received the campaign before.

However, even then, there were moments when he showed he still had a lot of quality for the Old Gold.

Sarabia’s creativity is something Wolves are clearly lacking right now, and he also offered them a whole lot more.

His leadership was highlighted by Gary O’Neil, who said Sarabia was like a coach on the pitch, and leaders are another thing desperately missing at the club right now.

Now, just a few months after leaving Wolves, the 33-year-old has done something he has never done across his career.

Pablo Sarabia scores first career hat-trick

Pablo Sarabia has had a long career that has seen him at Real Madrid, Sevilla, and PSG before coming to Molineux. That is a strong list of clubs for any player.

However, across his 16 years in the professional game, there is one thing the attacking midfielder had yet to achieve.

And that was scoring a hat-trick.

Just months after leaving Wolves upon the expiry of his contract, the Spaniard has finally achieved that feat.

Sarabia is currently playing his football for Qatari side Al-Arabi SC, and in the Qatari Stars Cup, the former Wolves man struck three goals against Al Khor.

It came in a 4-3 win for his side, and the player was pictured with the match ball following the game.

Pablo Sarabia proved he still had a lot to give

Pablo Sarabia clearly still has a lot to give in football, and just last April it was evident with his performance off the bench.

Wolves travelled to Portman Road to play Ipswich, and with the Old Gold 1-0 down, Vitor Pereira introduced the Spaniard.

The attacking midfielder got himself on the scoresheet just seven minutes after coming on to level the game.

And then he would assist Jorgen Strand Larsen with an excellent first-time cross to the back post to put Wolves 2-1 up.

The decision to let him leave was no doubt monetary and had nothing to do with his quality, as he quite clearly had an abundance of it.

The Spanish midfielder was on ‘eye-watering’ wages, and with him barely featuring, it made sense to not offer a new deal.

However, the club could really do with a player of his quality right now. Hindsight is certainly 20/20.