Aleksandar Mitrovic has joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal from Fulham for what the Premier League side said was a “club record transfer fee”.
The Serbia forward was not part of the Fulham squad for their 3-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday, having pushed for a move away this summer.
The 28-year-old will join Neymar in Al-Hilal’s attack, after the Brazilian moved to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
Fulham did not disclose the fee but will reportedly receive £50m.
Announcing the deal, the club said it had “reluctantly accepted a revised offer as the player had consistently made his desire to leave known”.
Mitrovic will be Al-Hilal’s third signing from the Premier League this summer following Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves.
Fellow Serbia player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has also joined Al-Hilal from Lazio and former Barcelona forward Malcom has been signed from Zenit St Petersburg.
The record four-time Asian Champions League winners are one of the four Saudi Pro League teams who have been taken over by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Mitrovic, who made 205 appearances for Fulham and scored 111 goals after signing from Newcastle United in 2018, had three years left on his contract.
He broke the Championship scoring record with 43 goals in 44 games during their promotion-winning season of 2021-22.
He scored 14 Premier League goals last season. Mitrovic was banned for eight matches and fined £75,000 for pushing referee Chris Kavanagh during an FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Manchester United in April.
Fulham initially rejected a £25m bid from Al-Hilal but Mitrovic was keen to move to Saudi Arabia.
He did not play any matches during Fulham’s pre-season and boss Silva said the situation was affecting the team’s preparations for the new campaign.
“It is not the ideal scenario, not because he received an offer. It is all the situation about himself,” Silva said.
“He is not working properly with his team-mates, and when I say it is not the ideal scenario, this is the situation.”
A host of big-name footballers have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, including Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Roberto Firmino.
