Things are hotting up in the Saudi Pro League as more big name stars from Europe’s top competitions have decided to join Cristiano Ronaldo, who paved the way with his move to Al Nassr last Christmas.
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle United, has taken over four of the Pro League’s biggest clubs: Al-Nassr and Al- Hilal based in Riyadh, and Jeddah-based Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.
And while there are plenty of big name players moving into the Premier League, the English top-flight has been a fertile hunting ground for the Saudis, as well as one of La Liga’s biggest stars making the move.
Karim Benzema had made it clear for some time that he was ready to leave Real Madrid and, when his contract expired at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, the 35-year-old completed his move to Al-Ittihad on a free transfer.
He will be sadly missed at the Santiago Bernabeu, and Benzema will be sure to be a crowd puller in Saudi with his all action a free-scoring displays. He has plundered a whopping 238 goals in 439 games for Los Blancos while also scoring 37 times in 97 appearances for France.
Only 12 months ago, Benzema was the Champions League top scorer and La Liga top scorer and he is the current holder of the Ballon D’Or.
This is some signing for Al-Itthad.
Meanwhile, the biggest fee paid out for a player so far this year is the €55 million Al-Hilal have splashed out on Wolves playmaker Ruben Neves. One of the best creative midfielders in the Premier League, Neves is quick-footed with a brilliant passing range as well as the ability to score free-flowing spectacular strikes or pinpoint dead ball kicks.
Still to reach the prime of his career, Neves is only 26 years old so he is sure to provide plenty of Saudi Pro League 2023 highlightsnext season, and this signing is a real statement of intent.
Neves is no stranger to making bold moves in his career. As an emerging star with Porto, he moved to Wolves when they were in the English second tier and he certainly made that transfer work.
Chelsea exodus
Another player on his way to Al-Hilal is Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly who has agreed to leave Stamford Bridge after just one year with the club.
Koulibaly starred for Napoli over eight campaigns but couldn’t settle in London, and he made some high profile mistakes early in his Chelsea career, never really recovering.
Here at SBOTOP, we’ve covered much of the transfer madness at the Bridge over the past 12 months, but this €23 million switch makes sense for both Koulibaly and the club, and the Saudi Pro League 2023 betting oddswill be keeping a close eye on Al-Hilal.
Also on the way out of Chelsea is defencive midfielder N’Golo Kante, who has joined Benzema on a free transfer to Al-Ittihad.
Kante made his name with Leicester City during the Foxes’ 2016 Premier League title campaign and was snapped up by Chelsea at the end of that historic season. Since then, he has become one of the best midfield lynchpins for club and country, earning 53 caps with France.
Kante has the ability to break up play and launch attacks with a quick, often simple, pass and he will thrive in Saudi.
And another Blue to make the move is goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, switching to Al-Ahli for €18.5 million. He has had three good seasons at Stamford Bridge and won the African Cup of Nations with Senegal, but new manager Mauricio Pochettino is happy to let Mendy go as he reshapes Chelsea for the coming campaign.
Winger Hakim Ziyech is also set to move to Al-Nassr for a fee of around €10 million, but that deal is yet to be formalised.
Away from West London, news broke in Manchester that Sky Blue winger Riyad Mahrez had agreed a staggering £410,000-a-week transfer to the Saudi Pro League, but it seems that his love of Manchester and the club’s willingness to offer him a new contract might keep Mahrez in the north of England.
He is one of the fastest and most skillful wingers in football and loved by City fans and Pep Guardiola. It would seem a strange move in some ways after Manchester City have just completed an historic treble, and Mahrez says he has a great relationship with the Sky Blues. But the way the Saudi Pro League is attracting big name stars by the week, I wouldn’t rule anything out this summer.
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