Darwin Nunez's Teammate Rips up His Contract and Leaves Country After Slamming Al Hilal

An Al Hilal player has taken the extreme measure of terminating his contract at the Saudi Pro League club following legal advice after being told he would have greatly reduced playing time this season.

Al Hilal are one of several Saudi Arabian clubs to have attracted top talent from across Europe, partly due to the vast sums of money on offer for players if they make the move to the Middle East.

Portuguese duo Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo have moved from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League, and have been joined this summer by Darwin Nunez from Liverpool.

After spending three seasons at Anfield and scoring 40 goals across 143 appearances, plus being part of Liverpool's Premier League title winning squad last season, Nunez moved to Al Hilal for a reported €53 million transfer fee.

Upon moving to Saudi Arabia, Nunez became team-mates with defender Renan Lodi, who had been at Al Hilal since moving from Marseille in the January of 2024.

He signed a three-and-a-half year deal which committed his future to Al Hilal until the summer of 2027.

However, Lodi has now abruptly left the Saudi Pro League club in acrimonious circumstances after he ripped up his contract there.

Renan Lodi has left Al Hilal. (Image: Getty)

The former Nottingham Forest loanee has released a lengthy statement on Instagram to explain his sudden departure.

The Brazil international claims that after pre-season in Germany, he was informed he would be unable to play in the Saudi Pro League and would only be registered for games in the Asian Champions League and received no answers from the club for his lack of minutes.

The defender says he tried to resolve the situation but, following legal advice, he has terminated his contract after being 'deprived of my profession'.

He wrote: "I started the 2025/26 season motivated to bring more trophies to the club, without worrying about having to compete with other players.

"But after pre-season in Germany, I was surprised to know that I couldn’t play in the Saudi League. I would only have the chance to play in a very few matches, in the Asian Champions League.

"This situation made me think about my future. I still have many dreams in football, and I wouldn’t have enough minutes this season. Over the past few weeks, I tried to reverse this decision with the club to be available for all of Al-Hilal’s matches.

"But I never received an answer on how this situation could be resolved in a friendly manner.

"Therefore, I sought legal advice and was informed that I cannot be deprived of my profession. I made the decision to pursue my rights, like any worker who is prevented from performing their job.

"I eagerly hope that the responsible authorities will adjudicate my case as quickly as possible so that I can return to doing what I love without any restrictions.

"I am immensely grateful for all the support shown by the fans over these past 20 months. You are the fuel that moves Al-Hilal every day.

"I also thank the club’s professionals who have helped me throughout this period, especially the physiotherapists and the other players, with whom I have built a close friendship."