El-Hilal striker Aleksandr Mitrovic has insisted he had no problem leaving Fulham for Saudi Arabia this summer and believes he’s joined a club comparable to Real Madrid.
The striker has been speaking regarding his departure from Fulham in comments relayed by Bernabeu Digital, when he has made the surprising remarks.
Mitrovic joined El-Hilal, who are one of the PIF funder clubs in Saudi’s Pro League, in a €52.6m deal from Fulham midway through August after forcing through a departure from Craven Cottage.
It brought an end to a successful five-year spell for him with Fulham, where he managed 111 goals and 22 assists in 206 games after joining from Newcastle in 2018.
He had previously joined the Magpies in an €18.5m deal in 2015 after shining in Belgium, where he had 44 goals and 11 assists in 90 games for the club.
It’s that goalscoring record which has attracted Al-Hilal and convinced them to spend the big money on him, making him one of the higher profile moves this summer.
They’ll be hoping he can score the goals required to help raise their profile and that of Saudi football, although Mitrovic believes that isn’t necessary.
“When I received the offer from Al-Hilal, I spoke about it with my family,” he said.
“Giving it up was impossible. I am not nostalgic for England, I played there for many years I’m happy to have finally arrived at a top club.
“Al-Hilal is a bit like Real Madrid in Europe. It’s difficult to make comparisons. It’s not at Premier League level yet, but at this rate it will be in the future. In Arabia I was positively surprised by football and people’s interest in it.”
