Former Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Leonardo Bonatini has insisted money is not the only motivation for players to move to the Middle East.
In the last two windows, Saudi Arabian clubs have attracted stars of European football and that includes Rúben Neves, who left Wolves for Al-Hilal back in June.
Bonatini spent a season at Al-Hilal before joining Wolves on a loan deal in 2017 and his stay there was made permanent a year later.
The 29-year-old, who is now at Mexican side Atlético San Luis, has told Record in Mexico that his move to the Middle East helped him get a move to the English club.
“I had to play in Arabia, and the truth is that it was a very good experience for me, I did not expect the level of football to be so good, I think the locals are the ones who raise the level, I played for a season and left a champion, many times we think that players go out only for money, but from there I went to England, then I was able to play at a higher level,” he said.
The Brazilian spent over five years at Wolves before the parties mutually agreed to terminate his deal in December 2022. He managed 13 goals and seven assists from 56 games for Wolves, who also sent him out on loan to Nottingham Forest, Vitória Guimarães and Grasshoppers.
During his time at the Premier League side, he played alongside Raúl Jiménez, who left them for Fulham in the last window. The South American has kind words to say about his former teammate.
“He’s an exceptional player, I also played against him in Portugal, and when he came to Wolves he taught us a lot, he is a victorious, world class player,” Bonatini explained.
“When he arrived, we were very happy to have a player like him in the squad, we didn’t talk much because I was a little shy, he didn’t talk much either, he is a very good person and a dad too.”
