Produced by: Hitansh Gaur
Saudi club Al-Hilal is trying to sign Romelu Lukaku after getting snubbed by Lionel Messi last week. The striker is seen as a potential rival for Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
Romelu Lukaku reportedly met the officials of Al-Hilal on Monday in Saudi Arabia, where they offered him a two-year contract worth €50 million (approx. Rs 444 crore).
Lukaku has been in the news since Sunday as he missed an 88th-minute equaliser for Inter Milan against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final. Lukaku’s header went straight to the feet of Ederson who deflected it very easily.
As of now, Lukaku is a Chelsea player who is on loan at Inter Milan. His previous clubs are:– – RSC Anderlecht – 2009 to 2011 – Chelsea – 2011 to 12 and 2021-22 – West Bromwich – 2012 to 2013 – Everton – 2013 to 2017 – Manchester United – 2017 to 2019 – FC Internazionale – 2019 to 2021 and 2022 to 2023
Lukaku has been in club football for 14 years and played internationally for 13 years. His career stats are:– – 288 goals in 600 club football matches – 72 goals in 106 matches for the Belgium National Team
Al-Hilal was previously trying to get Messi on a two-year contract worth $1.2 billion, but the latter shocked the world by announcing his move to MLS club Inter Miami.
Messi snubbed the Saudi club reportedly because of his family, as there were reports that his wife Antonella didn’t want to raise their kids in Saudi Arabia. Messi even told the media that his reason is something beyond money.
Even though Messi did not go, Saudi clubs are still getting successful in their pursuit of getting stars in the age of 30s. Recently, Real Madrid captain Benzema joined the Saudi league winners Al-Ittihad on a huge three-year contract potentially worth $647 million.
N’Golo Kante is also joining his French teammate at Al-Ittihad in a three-year deal reportedly worth $320 million. Another star player in talks to join a Saudi club is none other than the Brazilian winger Neymar who is set to leave Paris Saint-Germain this year. Neymar is reportedly in talks with a big Saudi club.