After record transfer spending: will a rule change lead to the next Saudi offensive?

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Last summer, the transfer offensive of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) shook up the football world. Stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo (38), Neymar (31) and Spanish football talent Gabri Veiga (21) moved to the desert state for a lot of money and high wages.

Now European football is threatened with a new earthquake. As the English daily “The Telegraph” writes, the Saudi Arabian league plans to increase the number of foreigners per team to ten next season – previously eight foreigners were allowed. This would give financially strong clubs more room to maneuver in the transfer market.

Teams like Al-Ahli already have eight top foreign players under contract: Edouard Mendy, Roger Ibanez, Merih Demiral, Gabri Veiga, Franck Kessié, Allan Saint-Maximin, Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino. In the current situation, North Macedonian-Swiss dual nationality Ezgjan Alioski is redundant at the Jeddah club and is not allowed to watch.

Already top when it comes to expenses

It has long been rumored that the Saudi Arabian league will increase the foreign contingent. Now Saudi Arabia is getting serious and underlining its ambitions to be one of the most influential leagues in the world. The increase would make the league more competitive in international comparison, but would hinder the development of its own talent.

When it comes to transfer spending, the SPL was already among the top in the world last summer. Only the Premier League spent more money on new players in the summer. (jsl)

Source : Blick