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The European top clubs can breathe easy for the time being. The transfer window in Saudi Arabia has been closed since September 7. There was a fear in Europe that several stars would fall victim to the reputation of money and move to the desert state. You could not have commented on any departures because the transfer windows are already closed in this country.
Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp (56) has criticized this situation. However, the big exodus failed to materialize and only a few players moved to Saudi Arabia. For example, Betis defender Luis Felipe (26) signed with Al-Ittihad in recent days and the Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum (32) with Al-Ettifaq. Cost point: 22 million and 8 million euros.
The four top clubs from the Saudi Pro League Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr were rather wild. The financial possibilities of the big four are virtually endless. This is also reflected in an international comparison after the summer transfer window. The Saudi Pro League has the second highest spending of any league in the world. Only the Premier League clubs have dug deeper into their pockets in recent summer months and spent almost three billion euros (!) on new players.
It is especially surprising that in the Saudi Arabian league – unlike the Premier League, for example – there is no extra transfer income from player sales, and TV rights are not expensive, unlike other leagues. If you take a closer look at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ project, the astronomical expenditure is hardly surprising.
An incredible $6.3 billion has been pumped into sports projects by the state fund PIF over the past two years, according to the Guardian. The transfer costs of 955,872,520 euros in the summer, on the other hand, seem fine and make it clear: the summer transfer offensive from Saudi Arabia was just the beginning.
For example, the Saudi Arabian league spent twice as much as LaLiga clubs. The Bundesliga broke a record in transfer income: more than a billion euros were generated through transfers. Never before has a league generated so much transfer income in one period.
It should be known by now that players from Europe’s top leagues are not moving to the Arabian Peninsula due to its sporting appeal. While some, such as the Belgian Yannick Carrasco (“I wanted to protect myself financially”), make no secret of the motives, others emphasize other motives.
Astronomical wages
Ex-Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (33) recently said his main drive was to make the league one of the best in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo (38) and Neymar (31) sounded alike after moving to Saudi Arabia.
Henderson’s example shows that sometimes even the major Premier League cannot keep up with wage payments from the Emirate. The 33-year-old earns seven times as much as in Saudi Arabia, about 126 million euros in 2026. Cristiano Ronaldo would earn no less than 500 million euros in two years and Neymar 320 million euros. These are figures incomprehensible to mere mortals and show the absurdity of the football project in Saudi Arabia.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
