The biggest phenomenon of the summer in the football transfer market has been the transfer of top players to the Saudi Arabian league after big money.
Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia to the Al Nassr team already in the winter. Ronaldo, 38, is already well into the twilight of his career, but several players in the prime of their careers have moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer.
The transfers are made possible by the Saudi Arabian state investment fund PIF, i.e. Public Investmend Fund. Its wealth is astronomical thanks to oil money.
Read more: PIF has already messed up the sports world, but the future is just dizzying – this is what it’s all about in a fund that covets assets of two trillion
The players have received criticism for the transfers due to Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record. Much has been said about sports washing, i.e. the state’s attempt to polish its image with the help of sports.
Here are some notable transfers to the Saudi Arabian League during the summer.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid – Al Ittihad)
Benzema, who had a long career in Real Madrid and was awarded the Ballon d’Or as the best player in the world last year, moved on a free transfer. The 35-year-old Benzema signed a two-year contract that will earn him 400 million euros.
Benzema has won four La Liga titles, three Spanish Cups and five Champions Leagues at Real Madrid.
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea – Al Ittihad)
Kante, who played at Chelsea for seven years, also moved on a free transfer. Kante, 32, signed a four-year contract. He earns 86 million euros a year.
Kante was part of Leicester’s surprise Premier League title winning team in 2016. At Chelsea, he won the league title the following season. At Chelsea, he also won the FA Cup, the Champions League and the Europa League.
Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton – Al Hilal)
Wolves got Neves, 26, the biggest transfer fee in club history, 55 million euros. Neves played 253 matches for Wolverhamton and scored 30 goals. He was in the Portuguese national team at the 2021 European Championship and the 2022 World Championship.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea – Al Hilal)
Al Hilal paid a transfer fee of 19.8 million euros for Koulibaly, 32. Koulibaly has won the 2021 African Championship in the Senegal national team.
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea – Al Ahli)
Goalkeeper expertise also leaves Chelsea for Saudi Arabia. The Senegalese Mendy will transfer for 18.6 million euros. The 31-year-old Mendy was chosen as both UEFA and Fifa goalkeeper of the year 2021 and, like Koulibaly, won the African championship in the same year.
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool – Al Ahli)
Firmino, 31, was out of contract with Liverpool and joined on a free transfer. Firmino won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup while playing for Liverpool.
Jordan Henderson (Liverpool – Al Ettifaq)
The Liverpool captain signed a three-year contract. The transfer amount was 14 million euros. According to The Guardian, Henderson earns more than 800,000 euros per week. Henderson’s move drew more criticism than usual, as he has often spoken in favor of equality and equality.
Read more: Saudi money turned the head of the Liverpool captain who defended minorities – Jordan Henderson’s decision is shocking
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City – Al-Ahli)
The 32-year-old Algerian Mahrez moved from Manchester City’s star wing to Saudi Arabia for a transfer fee of 35 million euros.
Mahrez, who moved to City in 2018, managed to win four league championships there, one FA Cup and the Champions League this spring.
Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan – Al Nassr)
Croatian national team player Brozovic, 30, will become Ronaldo’s teammate with a transfer fee of 18 million euros. According to media reports, Brozovic signed a three-year contract, where his salary is 25 million euros per year.
Jota (Celtic – Al Ittihad)
The 24-year-old Portuguese will join Benzema and Kante for 29 million euros.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio – Al Hilal)
The 28-year-old Serbian has played for Lazio for the last eight years. The transfer amount was 40 million euros and Milinkovic-Savic’s annual salary is 20 million euros.
Seko Fofana (Lens – AL Nassr)
The 28-year-old Ivorian national team player will transfer for a transfer fee of 25 million euros.
Malcom (Zenit – Al Hilal)
The 26-year-old Brazilian moves from St. Petersburg on a four-year contract. The transfer amount was no less than 60 million euros.
Moussa Dembele (Lyon – Al Ettifaq)
The 27-year-old French striker will join on a free transfer after his contract at Lyon expires.
Jack Hendry (Club Brugge – Al Ettifaq)
The 28-year-old defender of the Scottish national team is one of Al Ettihaq’s new players. The transfer amount was around 7.5 million euros.
Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle – Al-Ahli)
The 26-year-old French winger will join Al Ahli on a three-year contract. The clubs have not confirmed the transfer amount.
Steven Gerrard, coach (Al Ettifaq)
The former Liverpool captain was sacked as Aston Villa manager in November 2022. He rejected Al Ettifaq’s first offer, but the two sides reached an agreement in July.
More transfers are likely to come. Sadio Mane the transfer from Bayern Munich to Al Nassr has already been reported as a sure thing, although it has not been confirmed yet. Also for example Neymar’s and Bernardo Silva names have been circulating in conversations.
Al-Hilal made a record 300 million euro offer to PSG About Kylian Mbappebut the French star is not interested in moving to Saudi Arabia.
Source: ESPN
In June, ‘s Uutispodcast discussed with football journalist Saku-Pekka Sundelin, among other things, what the bottomless coffers of the Persian Gulf oil giants are doing to football.