Neymar's team buys more World Cup stars
On August 17, Sevilla agreed to sell Bounou to Al Hilal for $23 million. Under a three-year contract signed with the new team, the 32-year-old Moroccan goalkeeper will receive an after-tax salary of $13 million a year, six times his income at Sevilla.
Bounou joined Sevilla in 2019, from Girona. At that time, the two parties signed a loan contract with the option to buy it outright for only $4.4 million. But the Moroccan goalkeeper did not need a season to convince Sevilla to buy permanently. After main goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik was injured, Bounou became a hero in the campaign to win the Europa League 2019-2020. In his second season, he helped Sevilla win the highest score ever in La Liga, 77 points, before winning La Liga's best goalkeeper award, the Zamora title the following season.
Season 2022-2023, Bounou conquers new heights. At the 2022 World Cup, he helped Morocco become the first African representative to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, when he defeated Spain 3-0 in the penalty shootout in the round of 16 and defeated Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals. . After returning to Sevilla, the 32-year-old goalkeeper won his second Europa League. In the final against Roma by coach Jose Mourinho, Bounou pushed two penalties and helped Sevilla win 4-1.
Al Hilal is experiencing the biggest transfer season in history. Prior to Bounou, the Saudi Pro League third-placed team last season bought centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, midfielder Ruben Neves from Wolves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, striker Malcom from Zenit and Neymar from PSG. The total amount of money Al Hilal has spent on the transfer market this summer is 313.8 million USD.
On August 12, in the Arab Club Champions Cup final, Al Hilal lost to Ronaldo's Al Nassr with a score of 1-2. Ronaldo scored both goals for Al Nassr.
At the Saudi Pro League 2023-2024, Al Hilal started with a 3-1 victory on Abha's field with Malcom's hat-trick. Bounou will not be able to play in the Al Hilal match against Al Fayha on August 19, but can make his debut from the trip to Al Raed stadium on August 24.
Al Hilal is the most successful club in Saudi Arabia. They are holding three records of 18 times won the Saudi Pro League, four times won the AFC Champions League and twice won the Asian Cup C2.
