Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has become the latest big-name player to move to the Saudi Pro League after Al Hilal on Sunday confirmed his signing on a three-year contract.
"The board of directors of Al Hilal Club Company has signed the Serbian player Aleksandar Mitrovic," Al Hilal posted on social media. "Mitrovic's contract extends for three seasons, until 2026.
"The board of directors of the company was represented by the chairman Mr Fahad Bin Saad Bin Nafal. The signing ceremony took place at Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris, France."
The arrival of Mitrovic, 28, from Premier League club Fulham continues a remarkable summer transfer window for Hilal, who have recruited several top-level players from Europe and have broken the league transfer record three times.
The Riyadh giants first broke the record with the signing of Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves from Wolves and again when Brazilian winger Malcom arrived from Zenit St Petersburg. However, both deals were significantly eclipsed earlier this week when Hilal signed Brazilian superstar Neymar for a reported €90 million ($98m) from Paris Saint-Germain.
Hilal have also completed deals this summer for Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou from Sevilla, and Mitrovic's Serbia teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio.
The fee for Mitrovic has not been disclosed, although Fulham said they had received a club record fee for the striker, reportedly worth in the region of £45 million ($57.3 million).
Mitrovic, Fulham's top scorer in four of the past five seasons, was absent from his team's 3-0 loss to Brentford on Saturday, after getting injured in Fulham's opening match of the Premier League season against Everton last week.
The 28-year-old striker's contract with Fulham ran until 2026 and the London club reportedly knocked back several offers from Hilal, before an agreement was finally reached.
“I got information before the match and now the confirmation from the club after the match too that he’s on his way to leave the club,” Fulham manager Marco Silva said at Craven Cottage after the defeat to Brentford.
“Both clubs they got an agreement and now is the moment to finish the era of Mitrovic in our club."
Hilal, the most decorated club in Asian football with 66 major trophies, are one of four clubs – alongside Al Ahli, Al Nassr, and defending champions Al Ittihad – to have been acquired by the Public Investment Fund, which has provided the four biggest clubs in Saudi the financial support to sign some of the most famous players in world football.
Mitrovic's arrival provides Hilal further firepower to their ambitions of reclaiming the Saudi Pro League title they surrendered to Ittihad last season. He has scored 197 goals in 436 club appearances across his career, while he is Serbia's all-time leading goalscorer with 52 goals.
Hilal, who finished third last season, have begun the new season with one win and a draw, following up their 3-1 opening weekend victory at Abha with a 1-1 home draw against Al Feiha on Saturday.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Race card
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; 5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; 6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The Bio
Ram Buxani earned a salary of 125 rupees per month in 1959
Indian currency was then legal tender in the Trucial States.
He received the wages plus food, accommodation, a haircut and cinema ticket twice a month and actuals for shaving and laundry expenses
Buxani followed in his father’s footsteps when he applied for a job overseas
His father Jivat Ram worked in general merchandize store in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands in the early 1930s
Buxani grew the UAE business over several sectors from retail to financial services but is attached to the original textile business
He talks in detail about natural fibres, the texture of cloth, mirrorwork and embroidery
Buxani lives by a simple philosophy – do good to all
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
