Celtic standout Reo Hatate will not be moving to Saudi Arabia after his agent moved to emphatically shut down a money-spinning exit to the Middle East.
The 25-year-old has earned acclaim during his 18 months with the Treble winners and was linked overnight with a shock switch to Al Ittihad. But that will not be the next step for a player who earned admiring glances from English Premier League sides. His representative told him to journalist Ahmed Ragab "Reo is still in Europe. There is no chance of a move to the Saudi League."
Hatate previously stated: "If there is a chance to step up, I would like to play in various leagues. As a football player, I think everyone wants to play at a high level throughout the season. When I was in the J-League, I thought it was impossible to play in the five major leagues.
"However, because I was able to achieve a certain amount of results throughout the season with Celtic, I started to think that I would like to challenge myself next time. If there is a chance, I would like to take on the challenge. Of course, if I stay with this team, I can still have good experiences, and next season I will be in the Champions League. I think that by always standing at the top and fighting, I will be mentally stronger, so it would be nice if I stayed."
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