Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar left for Saudi Arabia this year for a significant sum. But this money does not come from their clubs.
A Saudi Pro League official has revealed that his country’s top clubs do not need to spend their own money to sign international stars. It is the league itself that provides the money for transfer fees and salaries of players like Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr) and Neymar (Al-Hilal).
No dollars spent on Ronaldo and Neymar
Saad Al-Laziz, the vice chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Pro League, told Kora Rotana: “Al-Nassr did not pay a single dollar himself to bring in Ronaldo. The Saudi Pro League transfer program is responsible for signing Ronaldo and also pays his salary. “It’s the same thing for the transfers of Neymar to Al-Hilal, of Jota to Ittihad and of Brozovic and Otavio to Al-Nassr.”
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr launched a transfer offensive from Saudi Arabian clubs at the start of 2023. CR7 has signed arguably the most lucrative contract in football history, which reportedly guarantees him an annual salary of 200 million euros.
Neymar would earn 150 million euros per season at Al-Hilal. Furthermore, his former club, Paris Saint-Germain, still received 90 million euros in transfer fees for the Brazilian. The latter will need time to justify this investment because he will be absent for a long time due to a knee injury.
Salah could follow
Further transfers of well-known players are expected to Saudi Arabia in the coming transfer windows. Liverpool’s Egyptian Mohamed Salah is reportedly at the top of Saudi clubs’ wish list.
The SPL wishes to significantly raise its level and thus become the number 1 global attraction with a view to organizing the 2034 World Cup.
