Aleksandar Mitrovic leaves Fulham to join Al Hilal
- Mitrovic has finally sealed his move to Saudi Arabia
- Fulham rejected numerous bids but have now secured a club-record fee
- Mitrovic joins up with Neymar and fellow Serb Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
By Tom Gott
Fulham have confirmed the departure of striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to Al Hilal for a club-record fee.
Al Hilal targeted Mitrovic earlier this summer and Fulham knocked back several bids for the striker, who made it abundantly clear that he wanted to be given the chance to discuss a move to the Middle East.
After focusing their efforts on signing Neymar, Al Hilal returned for Mitrovic and lodged a bit worth close to £50m for the 28-year-old, with Fulham ultimately accepting the offer.
Fulham have now confirmed the deal is done, bidding farewell to Mitrovic after five years at Craven Cottage.
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Manager Marco Silva, who turned down his own move to Saudi Arabia this summer, confirmed after Fulham's defeat to Brentford on Saturday that Mitrovic had successfully fought his way out of Craven Cottage.
"As you know, he forced everything to leave the club," Silva said. "He wanted to leave the club.
"Until the moment we had a financial agreement, we kept him in our football club. They have reached an agreement and now is the moment for us to keep playing and working with our team."
Alongside Neymar, Mitrovic will link up with fellow Serbian international Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as well as reunite with former Premier League talents Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves.
Al Hilal have also recruited goalkeeper Yassine Bounou from Sevilla and Brazilian winger Malcom.
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