Finally’ – £46m striker aims brutal dig at Newcastle United & Premier League after summer transfer
Aleksandar Mitrovic has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at his former clubs Newcastle United and Fulham following his £46million move to Al Hilal.
Mitrovic joined Newcastle from Anderlecht for £13million in 2015 and went on to score 17 goals in 72 appearances before joining Fulham for £27million in 2018. The Serbian striker enjoyed a prolific spell with The Cottagers, scoring 111 goals in 206 appearances before forcing a move to the Saudi Pro League over the summer.
“When I received the offer from Al-Hilal, I talked about it with my family, giving up was impossible,” Mitrovic told Gazzetta Dello Sport.
The 29-year-old holds no sentiment for his time in England, comparing his new club to European giants Real Madrid.
“I have no nostalgia for England, I played many years there,” he added. “I’m happy to have finally arrived at a top club, Al-Hilal is a bit like Real Madrid in Europe.”
Mitrovic was part of a £290million summer transfer splurge for Al Hilal, who also signed Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain, Ruben Neves from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, Malcolm from Zenit St Petersburg and Yassine Bounou from Sevilla.
The Saudi Pro League side are the most decorated football club in Asia having won the AFC Champions League a record four times.
Newcastle played Al Hilal last December as part of their warm-weather training camp in Saudi Arabia, winning 5-0 in Riyadh. Since then the Saudi Pro League has seen significant investment with Al Hilal one of four clubs taken over by Newcastle’s Public Investment Fund owners.
