Barcelona target Ruben Neves reveals he was 'very close' to joining Blaugrana last summer with 'advanced' Arsenal transfer talks also taking place

Neves negotiated a long-expected departure from Wolves last summer, signing for Al-Hilal in a deal worth €55 million (£47m/$60m). But things almost went a different way, with both Barca and Arsenal coming close to securing his signature.

In an interview with Portuguese publication O Jogo, Neves elaborated on his busy summer: "I was close to three clubs and finally it didn’t happen, which saddened me and helped me make the decision to go to Al-Hilal. I didn’t want to name names, but Barcelona was one of the hottest and it wasn’t a lie. It almost happened, as happened with Arsenal. Then there was another club outside of England. These were events that accumulated and then, with this golden opportunity, I had no doubts in accepting it. I was already hardened by transfers that do not happen."

Neves had enjoyed a successful season in the Saudi Pro League, starting 19 of a possible 21 games for the title favourites, and has six assists to his name. Barcelona, meanwhile, failed to spend big last summer, instead opting to bring in former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan on a free.

Neves was linked with Newcastle move in January but spurned interest to stay in Saudi Arabia. He will continue to feature for Al-Hilal for the coming months, and will also hope to stay in the Portuguese national team setup under Roberto Martinez.