It’s safe to say that many Wolves fans miss Ruben Neves.
The midfielder left the club in the summer of 2023, having enjoyed a successful six-year spell at Molineux.
Wanderers landed Ruben Neves while still in the Championship.
It was quite the coup considering the Portuguese had been playing the Champions League for Porto and been wearing the captain’s armband for them as a teenager.
There was a lot of hype when he signed, and he quickly lived up to that.
Neves is widely regarded as the best player to have ever stepped foot in the Championship, and he then went on to become a top Premier League player as well.
Neves made a move to Al-Hilal for a reported £47 million in the summer of 2023 which many supporters found painful, although it was a sale that helped Wolves in terms of PSR. Ally McCoist criticised Neves for making a move to Saudi Arabia, with many other fans and pundits questioning his decision.
But there were also lots of people who backed him for doing what was best for him and his family.
Neves – who paid a visit to Molineux for the Southampton game earlier this season – recently did an interview with Al-Hilal, and revealed he wants to recreate a very special moment from his Wolves days.
Ruben Neves wants to recreate that Derby goal for Wolves at Al-Hilal
Ruben Neves is a player with a brilliant goal catalogue.
The Portuguese is famous for his ability to shoot from long distances, and has several special strikes to his name.
Recently, Al-Hilal put out a short clip on their YouTube channel, which saw fans ask various players questions.
One fan asked Neves what his best goal he’s ever scored is.
Unsurprisingly, Neves chose the incredible goal he scored against Derby County in the 2017/18 season, and admitted he’s keen to try and score that kind of goal again.
He said: “Against Derby County in England for Wolves. It was an unnormal goal. It would be difficult to repeat, but I’ll try my best to do another one!”
The goal that put Ruben Neves on the map
It’s probably no surprise that Neves thinks this goal against Derby is his best ever.
The ball came out to him after a corner was cleared, he popped the ball up with the outside of his foot, manoeuvered his body, and then sent a looping volley into the top corner from 30 yards.
It was a truly special strike, and a moment of technical genius from the Portuguese and there hasn’t been a better goal scored at Molineux since.
It was rather a goal that put Neves on the map.
He had excelled in his first season at Wolves. But that goal rightly went viral, and made people aware of his talent ahead of coming up to play in the top-flight.
Only time will tell if he can recreate such a special goal at Al-Hilal – it’ll be hard, but Wolves fans won’t put it past him.