There have been various times over the past two decades or so in football when a new force starts to be a major factor in the transfer window. The rise of MLS was one of these, as was the sudden lure of Chinese clubs. You could also put Anzhi Makhachkala in this bracket as they, briefly, had the money to secure some very big names in the early 2010s.
In the summer of 2023, it is the Saudi Pro League. This is not the first summer where players that we deem notable from Europe have gone to play in Saudi Arabia, but it is the first time that so many huge names, many of which are not that old, have either moved there or are very close to.
It has been largely promoted by the decision to take the Saudi Pro League’s top four clubs under the control of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is the majority owner at Newcastle. The sovereign wealth fund is now pumping money into those four clubs and the aim is to get way more star names to make the move, subsequently boosting the international stature of the league.
Given how quickly these clubs are moving, here is a look at the players that have already made the move to the Saudi Pro League following PIF’s new control of Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr.
READ MORE ON THE PLAYERS LINKED TO SAUDI ARABIA & THE MONEY ON OFFER
Certainly, the biggest name to head to Saudi Arabia so far this summer, Karim Benzema is perhaps the profile of player that you may expect to make this move. He is now 35 years old which means that he is within his right to welcome a change of pace. That being said, he still scored 31 goals in all competitions last season for Real Madrid.
With his contract expiring, though, he has chosen to join Al-Ittihad on a three-year contract. Through that contract, the Frenchman is expected to earn a frightening £172 million per year. His Real Madrid contract saw him earn £14.5m a year.
Another very big name who will be at Al-Ittihad next season is N’Golo Kante. The French midfielder is joining up with his international teammate after taking the decision to leave Chelsea. There had been much speculation about where Kante could end up, with some very good teams wanting to sign him.
In the end, he has chosen Al-Ittihad despite only being 31 and clearly having a lot to give. Through the course of his four-year deal with the Saudi Pro League team the player is expected to earn £21.5m per season. It’s not exactly Benzema’s level, but it’s a big raise on the roughly £15m that Chelsea were paying him each year.
If you’re not a fan of these deals taking place, this is the most ‘concerning’ one. Ruben Neves has not been officially unveiled by Al-Hilal just yet, but he is set to sign for a fee of around £45m. The reason this differs to the two earlier deals is that Neves is only 26 years old. He is a midfielder coming into the prime of his career, and there are a huge number of teams that want to sign him.
Reports suggest Neves is set to be paid £300,000 a week in Saudi Arabia, which will not be taxed. An English side would need to pay him £600,000 if they were to match his take-home pay. Despite that, there are now reports that Neves could be loaned to Newcastle as soon as he arrives at Al-Hilal, which would add more than a degree of seediness to the whole affair.
Of course, ‘PIF signings’ does not just mean teams from the Saudi Pro League. Newcastle have swiped one of the best young midfielders in the world away from AC Milan after their bid of around €70m was accepted pretty quickly.
There was a general feeling that Tonali could spend the majority, if not all of his career at Milan, but that will not be the case. His move suggests that Newcastle are able to pluck players from anywhere now, even clubs with the history and stature of Milan.
There are at least two more Chelsea players that are thought to be closing in rapidly on moves to PIF-owned clubs in Saudi Arabia. Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly are looking for a way out of the London club, and Chelsea certainly want to get some players off of the books.
Ziyech has been linked with AC Milan and AS Roma as well as other clubs consistently over the past year or so, but he may well be playing for Al-Ittihad with Benzema and Kante next season at the age of 30.
For Koulibaly, a move to Al-Hilal seems to be on the cards where he can link up with Ruben Neves, if he’s still there. he has supposedly turned down a loan move back to Serie A, where the 31-year-old used to play with Napoli.
On top of Ziyech and Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy has agreed on a contract with Al Ahli, whilst Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng is in talks over a move to Saudi Arabia.
