The summer transfer window has not even opened yet, but one of its major themes has already been established.
Saudi Arabia has never been a mainstream destination for footballers, yet the Middle Eastern country is determined to change that. Having already landed Cristiano Ronaldo back in December – and snared Karim Benzema after his exit from Real Madrid – the Saudi Pro League is on a mission to lure some other big-name players.
In a trend which bears a striking resemblance to the Chinese Super League, which attracted the likes of Oscar, Yannick Carrasco, Hulk, Paulinho and Axel Witzel in its golden era between 2016 and 2019, Saudi Arabia is becoming the hottest destination for well-known players of a certain age.
Saudi Arabia is bidding to host the 2030 World Cup and is ready to splash out huge sums of money to put itself on the map as a footballing country. Ronaldo is being paid a reported £177million per year by Al-Nassr and sky-high wages are tempting some players to ditch Europe’s top five leagues for the Saudi Pro League.
The most eye-catching name is, of course, Lionel Messi. The World Cup winner is poised to leave Paris Saint-Germain when his contract expires at the end of June and one of the options presented to him comes from Al-Hilal.
As Mirror Football reported last week, Messi’s father, Jorge, who acts as his agent, has reportedly agreed a deal worth €1.2billion (£1.04bn) over two years for his son. Messi is already a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia and was suspended by PSG at the start of May after taking an unauthorised trip to the country. He now might be about to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps to Riyadh.
He is far from the only one considering the move, however. Reports in France say Al-Hilal have also made offers to sign Sergio Busquets (34), Jordi Alba (34) and Marco Verratti (30) in an effort to convince Messi of their project.
According to The Times, Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris , 36, could triple his salary to £300,000-a-week if he moved to an unnamed club in Saudi Arabia. Roberto Firmino , who is leaving Liverpool after eight years of service at the age of 31, has also received a hugely lucrative offer from a Saudi club.
Hugely experienced stars like Real Madrid’s Luka Modric (37) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Sergio Ramos (37) have also been approached by representatives of Saudi clubs, according to AFP. While securing Benzema’s signature for a whopping €200m (£172m) per season at Al-Ittihad, agents also approached Modric, while those working on the Messi transfer spoke to Ramos’ team.
Firmino isn’t the only Premier League star considering a move, either. Ilkay Gundogan , who stands on the brink of completing an historic Treble as captain of Manchester City, has been offered a move to Saudi Arabia when his current deal expires.
N’Golo Kante , who has rarely been seen in a Chelsea shirt this season, is another high profile target, as reported by the Guardian. Both Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr have sent representatives to London armed with €100m (£86m) to try and sign the 32-year-old midfielder whose Chelsea contract is about to expire.
Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to leave Chelsea and has been approached by Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab, clubs in which Saudi’s Public Investment Fund recently took 75 per cent stakes in.
Then there is Wilfried Zaha . The Crystal Palace winger has been courted by Al-Nassr but is also considering other offers to stay in Europe.
CBS Sports reports that former Liverpool striker Iago Aspas , who is now 35 and plays for Celta Vigo in Spain, is wanted by Al Fath.
The gold rush has in part been sparked by the PIF’s purchase of four Saudi clubs : Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr, and Al-Hilal. The country’s fund, which also owns Newcastle, is determined to make a splash in football and it seems they plan on doing so by throwing money at famous names in an effort to draw eyeballs to their domestic league.
It remains to be seen how many players take up the offers.
