Pep Guardiola admits the transfer market has seen a transition after Saudi Arabia tempted Riyad Mahrez for a high-profile transfer.
Manchester City manager Guardiola believes Saudi Arabia’s unparalleled financial might ‘changed the transfer market’ after Riyad Mahrez moved to Al-Ahli for £30m.
The Algerian winger, who won four Premier League titles with City, received an astronomical offer from the Saudi club which prompted him to leave the Premier League and start a new chapter.
Speaking during the club’s pre-season tour of South Korea, the former Barcelona coach spoke about the possibility of City signing a replacement for Mahrez and how the recent trend of top footballers to join the Saudi Pro League changed the market.
“We are not looking to replace Riyadh in terms of skills, because each player is different”Guardiola said.
“Saudi Arabia has changed the market. A few months ago, when Cristiano (Ronaldo) was the only one to leave, nobody thought that so many top players would play in the Saudi league.
“In the future there will be more and that is why clubs need to be aware of what is happening. Riyadh got an amazing offer (from Al-Ahli) and that’s why we couldn’t say ‘don’t do it’.
After Ronaldo’s winter move to Al-Nassr earlier this year, the current summer transfer window has seen footballing superstars like Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad), N’Golo Kanté (Al-Ittihad), Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Al-Hilal) and others to settle in the Middle East.
Not only do Saudi clubs pay transfer fees higher than the market value of certain players (Neves was recruited for 55 million euros, Malcom for 60 million euros), but they also offer fabulous salaries (example: Ronaldo earns £177m a year at Al-Nassr).
