Raul Jimenez has openly acknowledged that parting ways with Wolves over the summer was a difficult experience.
The Mexican striker was among the notable departures from Molineux, and his departure had become somewhat inevitable.
Towards the end of the previous season under Julen Lopetegui, Jimenez struggled to secure playing time. The former head coach repeatedly left him out of the matchday squads in the latter part of the 2023/24 season. Lopetegui’s decision to not give Jimenez any minutes in Wolves’ final home game against Everton, despite speculation about the striker’s departure, particularly irked some Wolves fans.
Jimenez did eventually leave the club, making a move to Fulham for a fee of approximately £5 million.
Raul Jimenez opens up about his Wolves exit
Jimenez recently spoke with Sky Sports regarding his departure from Wolves during the summer.
His remarks clearly convey the genuine difficulty he experienced when leaving the club. Having spent a significant portion of his career at Molineux, he holds sincere affection for the club.
He remarked, “It was a challenging decision for me to leave Wolverhampton after five years. I had both really good moments and some less favorable ones as well. But we truly cherished our time there – myself as a footballer, along with my family. Our life there was exceptionally pleasant, and we genuinely miss it. However, we’re also in a good place here, and we’ve been doing well since settling.”
Jimenez’s departure was undoubtedly regrettable, given that he was an exceptional striker in his prime. However, a career-altering head injury significantly impacted his trajectory, and he never quite reached the same heights as before.
It could be argued that the timing was right for Jimenez to depart when he did. Nevertheless, it raises intriguing questions about whether, had Gary O’Neil been at the club earlier, he might have fought to keep Jimenez on the team.
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