The lure of lucrative contracts continues to attract stars to the Saudi Pro League this summer.
Early last summer, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante joined reigning champions Al Ittihad, Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy signed for Al Ahli and former Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly joined rivals Al Hilal. Since then, the transfers have continued.
Marcelo Brozovic joined Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, Roberto Firmino completed a free transfer to Al Ahli after leaving Liverpool, while Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic agreed a sensational move to Al Hilal.
The Liverpool connection will be present elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League next season, with Fabinho moving to Al Ittihad and captain Jordan Henderson joining former Reds and England captain Steven Gerrard in his new role at Al Ettifaq. And Mo Salah is next on the Saudi wishlist, with Al-Ittihad reportedly preparing a bid of over £200million for the Egyptian.
The biggest confirmed transfer so far to the Saudi Pro League came via Al Hilal’s attack on Paris Saint-Germain to sign world transfer record holder Neymar, in a deal sensational transfer.
Sports news examines the largest transfers to Saudi Arabia so far.
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Star transfers in Saudi Arabia
Anderson Talisca was one of the first household names to join the Saudi Pro League. He moved to Al Nassr after a few years in China.
Cristiano Ronaldo then helped the league gain a lot more ground by leaving Man United to also join Al Nassr after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He helped them gain a lot more viewers and showed the hierarchy of the Saudi Pro League that they could attract big names. He has since been joined by Sadio Mané, signed from Bayern Munich by Al Nassr.
Ballon d’Or holder Benzema will earn £84 million ($107 million) a year for three years at Al Ittihad. World Cup winner Kante is reported to earn £67.6 million ($86 million) per year over the duration of his four-year contract.
Al Hilal’s £47.1 million ($60 million) move for Ruben Neves from Premier League Wolves set a new transfer record for the league in June, but that benchmark was later broken by the Former Barcelona winger Malcom.
That was broken again by Neymar, as the Brazil international completed his £76.9 million ($97.8 million) move from Paris to Riyadh.
| Player | New club | Transfer fee | Subscription date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gini Wijnaldum | Al Ettifaq | £7.7 million ($9.7 million) | September 2023 |
| Yassine Bounou | Al-Hilal | £10.2 million ($13 million) | August 2023 |
| Alexander Mitrovic | Al-Hilal | £45 million ($57 million) | August 2023 |
| Otavio | Al-Nassr | £51.4 million ($65 million) | August 2023 |
| Aymeric Laporte | Al-Nassr | £23.5 million ($29.8 million) | August 2023 |
| Neymar Jr. | Al-Hilal | £76.9 million ($97.8 million) | August 2023 |
| Habib Diallo | Al Shabab | £15.3 million ($19.4 million) | August 2023 |
| Fabinho | Al-Ittihad | £35.9 million ($45.6 million) | August 2023 |
| Roger Ibanez | Al Ahli | £25.6 million ($32.6 million) | August 2023 |
| Frank Kessie | Al Ahli | £10.6 million ($13.4 million) | August 2023 |
| Sadio Mané | Al-Nassr | £24 million ($30 million) | August 2023 |
| Allan Saint Maximin | Al Ahli | £23 million ($29.3 million) | July 2023 |
| Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli | £30 million ($38.6 million) | July 2023 |
| Jordan Henderson | Al Ettifaq | £12 million ($15.6 million) | July 2023 |
| Malcolm | Al-Hilal | £51.5 million ($66.9 million) | July 2023 |
| Romain Saiss | Al Sadd | £2.2 million ($2.8 million) | July 2023 |
| Alex Telles | Al-Nassr | Free | July 2023 |
| Séko Fofana | Al-Nassr | £21.6 million ($27.8 million) | July 2023 |
| Sergei Milinkovic-Savic | Al-Hilal | £34.2 million ($44.6 million) | July 2023 |
| Roberto Firmino | Al Ahli | Free | July 2023 |
| Marcelo Brozovic | Al-Nassr | £15.4 million ($19.6 million) | July 2023 |
| Jota | Al-Ittihad | £25 million ($31.7 million) | July 2023 |
| Édouard Mendy | Al Ahli | £16 million ($20.2 million) | June 2023 |
| Karim Benzema | Al-Ittihad | Free | June 2023 |
| N’Golo Kanté | Al-Ittihad | Free | June 2023 |
| Rubén Nevès | Al-Hilal | £47.1 million ($60 million) | June 2023 |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | Al-Hilal | £15.7 million ($20 million) | June 2023 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Al-Nassr | Free | January 2023 |
| Anderson Talisca | Al-Nassr | £6.9 million ($8.8 million) | July 2021 |
Other stars linked to move to Saudi Arabia
Earlier this summer, Al-Hilal made a €300 million bid for the Paris St-Germain talisman. Mbappé, according to Fabrizio Romano. The French giants were ready to sell the French captain if he did not sign an extension to his contract, which expires in 2024 – but the player rejected the move.
Liverpool superstar Mo Salah whose name is at the top of Al-Ittihad’s wishlist with the Saudi league, is also a target and will continue to be linked with a move in every transfer window.
Former coach of AC Milan and Valencia Gennaro Gattuso refused offers to move despite being contacted directly by Saudi Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, while Marco Silva of Fulham would also have refused this decision.
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International stars in Saudi Pro League teams
- Al-Ittihad: Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté, Romarinho, Jota, Fabinho
- Al-Nassr: Cristiano Ronaldo, Anderson Talisca, David Ospina, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, Seko Fofana, Sadio Mané, Aymeric Laporte
- Al-Hilal: Ruben Neves, Moussa Marega, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom, Neymar, Aleksandar Mitrovic
- Al Shabab: Ever Banega, Grzegorz Krychowiak
- Al-Fateh: Cristian Tello
- Abha: Felipe Caicedo
- Al Ahli: Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin, Gabriel Veiga, Frank Kessie
- Al-Sadd: Romain Saiss
- Al Ettifaq: Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembélé
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