Yassine Bounou, the Moroccan goalkeeper for Sevilla, has become the next big name to leave Europe for the riches of Saudi Arabia, the two clubs revealed on Friday.
Bounou, who appeared in last week’s UEFA Super Cup encounter against Manchester City, is Al-Hilal’s second huge addition this week, following the transfer of Neymar from PSG.
“FC Sevilla and Al-Hilal have reached an agreement for the transfer of goalkeeper Bounou to the Asian team,” said Sevilla in a statement, while Al-Hilal released a video on X (formerly Twitter) in which the player spoke in Arabic.
The value of the deal was not made public by either club, although the Spanish press put it at 20 million euros ($21.7 million).
Bounou, or “Bono” as his shirt says, joined Seville from Girona four years ago and was linked with a move to Real Madrid this season as cover for the injured Thibaut Courtois before the club decided for Kepa Arrizabalaga.
The 32-year-old was also a vital player of the Moroccan side that advanced to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in 2022.
Bounou and Neymar are the latest in a growing line of players who are leaving Europe for Saudi Arabia, including Sadio Mane, who has signed for Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr, Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad) and Kalidou Koulibaly who will be their teammate at Al-Hilal.Yassine Bounou