Theo Hernandez has completed a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, ending his six-year spell in Italy with AC Milan.
The 27-year-old French international is ready to start a new chapter in Riyadh after agreeing a three-year deal following a reported €25 million switch.
Theo made 262 appearances for Milan which saw the dynamic left-back score 34 goals and provide 45 assists.
Often a polarising figure – with critics questioning his attitude while supporters point to his blistering pace and brilliance on the ball – there can be no doubting his ability.
At Al Hilal, Theo will play for a familiar face in former Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi who only moved to the kingdom in June, ahead of the club's involvement in the revamped Fifa Club World Cup.
The pair will be joining forces having been foes for the last few seasons, regularly going head-to-head in the Derby della Madonnina at the San Siro.
Theo made his intentions clear to Milan’s management at the end of June: after initially rejecting Al Hilal’s advances, he was now open to the move.
It brings an end to a memorable chapter at Milan – six seasons that saw the team win a Serie A title and a Supercoppa with Theo being named in the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons in a row.
He was instrumental in the club’s 2022 Scudetto triumph, a force of nature on the left whose surging runs and telepathic understanding with Rafael Leao helped make him a hero with Rossoneri fans.
Theo is an attacking full-back with the swagger of a winger and the instincts of a forward but whose defensive skills have evolved over the years.
He has credited Stefano Pioli, the former Al Nassr coach who was in charge at Milan from 2019 to 2024, as being key to his development, even stepping in as an emergency centre-half on occasions under his watch.
But Theo's performances have waned over time culminating in his latest, most difficult season in Rossoneri colours – a campaign marked by inconsistency, frustration, and growing criticism.
Back in August, Theo came in for criticism over a perceived snub to then coach Paulo Fonseca after being left on the bench for the Serie A clash at Lazio.
With little over a 15 minutes to go, Milan players were gathered around Fonseca during a drinks break listening to instructions – everyone apart from Theo and fellow substitute Leao who convened instead on the far side of the pitch having just come on as substitutes.
“We had been on for two minutes, we didn’t need a cooling break. It was nothing against the team or the manager,” said Theo, while Fonseca insisted: “We don’t need to make problems where there aren’t any.”
Contract renewal talks collapsed after his salary demands were reportedly too high for Milan as questions about his attitude grew.
As leading Milan website SempreMilan noted, Theo is now remembered “more for his style than his football – his aesthetics over his athletics.”
The electric, bold figure Milan fans had grown to love had been replaced by a cautious player lacking in confidence.
Even France coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged the downturn in November. “Theo is an excellent player, even if this season he’s probably not on the same level as in the past,” he said. “He plays a lot, and it can happen.”
There were flashes of brilliance – like his sublime free-kick in Milan’s Supercoppa final comeback triumph over Inter in Riyadh – but they were overshadowed by moments of madness such as his red card during Milan's Uefa Champions League play-off defeat against Feyenoord.
This sending off, with the second yellow awarded for a blatant dive, was widely viewed as the tipping point in his relationship with the club.
Former Milan director Zvonimir Boban was scathing in his assessment: “It feels like he isn’t even trying.”
“Since the start of the season, we’ve seen a Theo who bears no resemblance to the player we once knew. He’s just idle,” the Croatian added.
Italian football journalist Nima Tavallaey Roodsari says his time at Milan has been “marked by soaring highs and painful lows” while also insisting he was one of the best players at the club over his spell.
“He’ll always be remembered for helping deliver the club’s 19th Scudetto, with his goal against Atalanta standing as a defining symbol of that title-winning run – alongside his fierce battles with Inter’s Denzel Dumfries,” said Roodsari.
The goal he referred to was Milan’s second in their 2–0 win over Atalanta – a strike that all but sealed their first Serie A title in 11 years. It was a stunning solo run, starting from the edge of his own box, with Theo in full flow. “But the lows were just as memorable, for all the wrong reasons,” Roodsari adds.
“The now-iconic image of him and Leao refusing to join the team during a cooling break under Fonseca, his costly red card against Feyenoord that ended Milan’s Champions League hopes, and, ultimately, the manner in which he leaves the club.”
