The lure of lucrative contracts continues to attract stars to the Saudi Pro League.
Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante joined defending champions Al Ittihad, Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy signed for Al Ahli and former Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly joined rivals Al Hilal. Since then, transfers have continued.
Al Hilal are also taking part in two ambitious forays into Paris Saint-Germain, adding a world record for Kylian Mbappe, along with a bid for Italian foreigner Marco Verratti.
Marcelo Brozovic moved to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, Roberto Firmino left for Al Ahli after leaving Liverpool, and Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic accepted a sensational Al Hilal.
The connection to Liverpool will be provided in the Saudi Pro League next season, with Fabinho final in a switch to Al Ittihad, and captain Jordan Henderson joining former Reds and England captain Steven Gerrard in his new role at Al Ettifaq. Now Riyad Mahrez has joined Manchester City.
The Sporting News analyzes transfers to Saudi Arabia to date.
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Anderson Talisca was one of the first well-known names to sign up for the Saudi Pro League. He moved to Al Nassr after a few years in China.
Then Cristiano Ronaldo helped the league gain a lot more ground by leaving Man United to also sign for Al Nassr after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It helped them gain a lot more viewership and showed the Saudi Pro League hierarchy that they can attract big names. He has since been signed through Sadio Mane, signed from Bayern Munich via Al Nassr.
Benzema, a Ballon d’Or holder, will earn 84 million pounds ($107 million) a year for 3 years at Al Ittihad. World Cup winner Kante would earn 67. 6 million pounds ($86 million) a year on his four-year contract.
The £47. 1 million ($60 million) transfer of Al Hilal for Ruben Neves to Premier League Wolves set a new league transfer record in June, but that benchmark has now been raised through former Barcelona winger Malcom.
The Brazilian joined Al Hilal from Russian club Zenit St Petersburg for a £51. 5m/$66. 9 million payment.
Riyad Mahrez’s move to Al Ahli was announced via Man City on July 28. The Algerian winger ended his huge fortune in the Premier League for a payout of around £30m/$38. 6 million. He remained temporarily at the same club through another sensitive winger, Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin.
Al-Hilal has made a bid of 300 million euros (£259. 2 million/$332. 6 million) for the Paris St-Germain talisman, according to Fabrizio Romano. The French giants are in a position to sell the captain of France if he does not signal an extension. of his contract, which expires in 202 and his arrival would take the movements to a new level.
Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, with 14 Premier League goals to be called up in 2022/23, has not trained on Fulham’s US tour because he wants to sign for Al-Hilal, who reportedly failed with two passes to the Cottagers’ most sensible goalscorer.
There is better news for Fulham in relation to manager Marco Silva, who said he “committed 100% to the penny” to the club despite a 40 million euro (£34. 6 million/$44. 4 million) offer over two years from Al-Ahli.
Chelsea have been busy so far in the summer move window, as other players look set to sign for Kante, Koulibaly and Mendy in Saudi Arabia. Hakim Ziyech is now preparing to leave Europe.
Former AC Milan and Valencia head coach Gennaro Gattuso rejected the transfers despite being contacted directly through Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.
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