What happened at Molineux a week after Raul Jimenez met with Nathan Shi changed everything | OneFootball

Raul Jimenez had already met Wolves chairman Nathan Shi before returning to Molineux with Fulham, but what happened one week changed everything.

Raul Jimenez's return to Wolves in the summer of 2026 was a move a long time in the making.

The Mexican had never hidden his affection for the club after his five memorable seasons at Molineux, with supporters continuing to serenade him when their paths crossed after his move to Fulham in 2023.

Before returning to the Old Gold at the start of the summer, Jimenez had already spoken with Wolves executive chairman Nathan Shi about a potential return to the club after his deal at Craven Cottage expired.

But, what happened a week later made his decision a whole lot easier.

Raul Jimenez met Nathan Shi before returning to Molineux with Fulham

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Jimenez's second Wolves spell was officially confirmed on 9 June, after the striker agreed a two-year deal ahead of the World Cup.

But talks had been underway for several weeks, with the striker confirming he met Shi around a week before Fulham faced Wolves at Molineux on 17 May.

As described in his interview after signing, he felt a strong connection with the club and admitted that there was a sense of unfinished business after the lacklustre way in which his first spell ended with Julen Lopetegui freezing him out of the team.

Jimenez joined Wolves on loan from Benfica in 2018 before making his move a permanent one just months later in January. Scoring goals for fun and linking well with Adama Traore and the late Diogo Jota, he would become one of the defining players of Wolves' successful early years back in the Premier League.

Following his traumatic head injury in November 2020, Jimenez never quite returned as the same player, resulting in a poor final 2022/23 campaign, in which he was given no real send-off after struggling for minutes under Lopetegui.

Moving on to Fulham, the forward would score 31 times in three seasons, notching 14 assists in the process.

Molineux reception made Raul Jimenez's Wolves decision easier

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On 17 May, Wolves played out their final home match of a miserable Premier League campaign, with Rob Edwards' side drawing 1-1 after an Antonee Robinson penalty cancelled out Mateus Mane's opener.

Jimenez started on the bench that day, but the biggest reception of the afternoon belonged to him, with his old "Si Senor" chant ringing around Molineux when he was introduced for the final 23 minutes, despite him being in the Lilywhite of Fulham.

What fans did not know that day is that a return was a possibility, especially after the striker said that hearing the supporters after meeting Shi "made it easier for me to make a decision."

While he is past his best at 35, Jimenez is aiming to play a big role as Wolves strive for a Premier League return.

But, fans at Molineux will always wonder what could have been if not for the horrid incident in 2020.

Wolves fans will always wonder what could have been with Raul Jimenez

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When he made his first substitute appearance against Port Vale in early August, Wolves fans were given a reminder of happier times, especially when it comes to just how good their side were during his first spell.

At his peak, Jimenez was the focal point of the best Wolves team of the modern era.

He scored 17 Premier League goals and 27 in all competitions during the 2019/20 season, as the Old Gold finished seventh in the top flight and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Alongside Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, the aforementioned Jota and Traore, the Mexican spearheaded a team which had gone from the Championship to even knocking on the door of the Champions League in a matter of years.

The trajectory of both would change dramatically, with Jimenez suffering a fractured skull following a collision with David Luiz during a victory over Arsenal at the Emirates, an injury which kept him out for the season and placed his football career into perspective far beyond what happens on the pitch.

Wolves were changing around him too, with Nuno Espirito Santo leaving in May 2021, bringing four years in charge to an end, and by the time Jimenez left for Fulham in 2023, Wolves were no longer the upwardly-mobile side that he had initially joined.

If not for the incident, there is no telling how many more goals he may have scored, or how long Wolves' European momentum would have lasted had the team been held together.

The club and player are now at very different stages, but Jimenez does have the chance to write an ending that he never received the first time.