'Al-Hilal is bit like Real Madrid' claims new Saudi Pro League star

Cameron Smith

17 Sept 2023 20:40 BST
3 min read

Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid — © ProShots

Al-Hilal summer signing Aleksandar Mitrovic has claimed that his new club are the Real Madrid of the Saudi Pro League.

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Mitrovic, 29, joined Al-Hilal for €52.6 million from Fulham this summer and he has already scored five goals and provided one assist in his opening four Saudi Arabian top flight matches.

In fact, the Serbia international is now only two goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo, who leads the Saudi Pro League top-scorer charts.

Al-Hilal are currently and Mitrovic has claimed they are “like Real Madrid” when compared to their competitors in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the former Fulham man has revealed he has “no nostalgia” for the Premier League.

What has been said?

When I received the offer from Al-Hilal, I talked about it with my family. "Turning it down was impossible,” Mitrovic told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I have no nostalgia for England, I played many years there.” Mitrovic then aimed a dig at his former club Fulham before comparing his current team to the most successful club in Champions League history.

“I’m happy to have finally arrived at a top club," he said. "Al-Hilal is a bit like Real Madrid in Europe.”

Mitrovic does have a point though. While Real Madrid hold the record for the most UEFA Champions League wins (14), Al-Hilal have won the most AFC Champions League titles in history (four).

Furthermore, their five second-places is also a record. Al-Hilal reached the final in 2022 and 2021, losing the former after winning two years ago.

In addition, they have spent huge sums of money this summer and now possess five of the seven most expensive players in Saudi Pro League history (Neymar, Malcolm, Ruben Neves, Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic).

Kalidou Koulibaly (€23m), Yassine Bounou (€21m) and Hassan Tambakti (€11.5m) also joined during the summer window.

Mitrovic scored 111 goals in 206 Fulham appearances before leaving the club for Al-Hilal.