How far will Saudi Arabia stop? Many clubs have decided to draw heavily from Europe to strengthen their squad. If we talk about the Al Nassr club and its stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Brozovic and Seko Fofana, we can also think of Al Hilal with Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergej Milinković-Savić or even Al-Ittihad with Karim Benzema, N ‘Golo Kante and Jota. But the Al-Ahli club also decided to strike hard.
The country’s emblematic club, Al-Ahli nevertheless played in the second division last season. Back in the elite this year, Al-Ahli decided to put the means by offering Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino and this Friday Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian international arrives to strengthen a team which therefore now has its star in attack. And it’s far from over. For several days, negotiations had existed with Newcastle concerning the Frenchman Allan Saint-Maximin. And it will turn out well.
A transfer for 30M
Indeed, according to information from The athletic, the papers have been settled between the different parties. Saint-Maximin successfully passed his medical examination last week and will therefore sign a 3-season contract with Al-Ahli. The Magpies needed to sell so as not to be threatened by financial fair play and the former Nice player was considered the biggest market value on the way out.
This transfer should bring around 30 million euros to Newcastle. At the age of 26, the winger, who had long hoped to convince Didier Deschamps to call him to the France team, will therefore leave Europe for Saudi Arabia. Other stars should still follow this summer. In the meantime, this transfer should make the other Premier League clubs react well since Newcastle belongs to the PIF (Saudi investment fund), just like… Al-Ahli.
