AL HI-LOL
Al Hilal troll Barcelona over Ruben Neves transfer with cheeky message at start of unveiling video
AL-HILAL have cheekily trolled Barcelona over their transfer for Ruben Neves.
The Wolves star joined the Saudi Pro League outfit in a £47million transfer despite continuous links to the Spanish giants.
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The LaLiga side had been interested in the Portuguese international as a potential replacement for Sergio Busquets, who has joined Inter Miami.
However, Neves opted not to wait for a move to Barcelona and instead became one of the latest stars to make a move to the Middle East.
But that was not the end of it, as Al-Hilal decided to troll the Catalonian side in Neves' unveiling .
Right at the beginning of the video, a message can be seen saying, "Ruben Neves joins Barcelona", as a nod to the rumours of the club's interest.
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And fans were quick to spot the joke on social media, with many suggesting that manager Xavi did not want to sign the midfielder anyway.
One tweeted: "Al Hilal's Ruben Neves announcement starts with a cheeky line 'Ruben Neves joins Barcelona', followed by the official video edit."
A second wrote: "They really showed Barca by taking a mid player off our hands Xavi didn’t want."
A third commented: "Are they really trying to act like they won the transfer over us? 💀💀 Both fans and Xavi didn’t even want him here."
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A fourth said: "If they think that we need Neves in the midfield of Frenkie, Gundo, Gavi and Pedri, then ok 🤣🤣🤣."
While a fifth added: "They think they’ve hijacked the signing."
Another fan joked that the note was actually a mistake by Neves who had always wanted to join Barcelona.
They wrote: "Erm, Ruben mate, your team forgot to edit the 'Ruben Neves joins Barcelona' opening for your original video xoxo."
Xavi had preferred a move for Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi, a midfielder that he hailed as an "extraordinary pivot".
However, Zubimendi appears keen on staying at his current club.
This has led Barcelona to step up their interest in Man City's outgoing captain Ilkay Gundogan.
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