Ruben Neves graced Molineux with his presence last weekend, and Wolves fans were delighted to see the former skipper back at his old stomping ground.
Neves was back for the first time following his £47 million transfer to Al-Hilal in the summer of 2023 – and he proved to be a good luck charm as Wolves got their first Premier League win of the season against Southampton.
Matheus Cunha starred in the 2-0 win, and scored a goal from outside the box that Neves – famed for his long-distance shooting – would have been proud of himself.
After the game, Neves joined the Wolves players in the dressing room to celebrate.
It’s clear that the midfielder still holds a special place in his heart for the club, with Neves also admitting he’s watched every Wolves game this season.
Many would like to think he could return one day – and the idea of that was put to him on Saturday.
Ruben Neves leaves door open for Wolves return
Fans were absolutely gutted when Neves left.
It was something that had perhaps been on the cards, because Neves had shown his quality for so long at Molineux and a number of clubs were interested in him.
His contract was also running down, and Wolves were in a concerning financial predicament.
Few expected him to go to Saudi Arabia though, and some in the media did criticise him for the choice he made.
Many would love to see Neves come back for a second spell at Molineux one day, and Neves has left the door open over that particular possibility.
He told the club’s official website: “I don’t like to speak about that because life changes a lot. Of course, this is a special home for me and a special home for my family, so Wolves will always be in our minds and there will always be a chance.
“But I don’t want to create expectations to anyone, because we know how football is, we don’t know what will even happen tomorrow. But for sure, it’s an open door for me. I believe that if I can choose, Wolves will always be one of the options, for sure – but I don’t know what can happen.”
Neves would be welcomed back with open arms
Fans will hold onto these comments by Neves for years in the hope that he actually does come back to Wolves.
Neves has a contract with Al-Hilal until the summer of 2026, meaning next summer he will only have one year left. It’ll therefore be interesting to see what happens with him.
One would imagine Al-Hilal wouldn’t be too worried about him leaving for free in 2026, assuming Neves would not want to extend his contract.
A move back to Wolves after his spell with Al-Hilal is probably a bit unlikely, but you never know in football.
But fans likely wouldn’t mind too much if Neves returned to Molineux in his thirties, just so long as they got to see him in the old gold shirt again.