The lure of lucrative contracts continues to entice star names to the Saudi Pro League this summer.
In the summer of 2023, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante joined defending champions Al Ittihad, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy signed for Al Ahli, and former Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly joined rivals Al Hilal. Since then, the transfers have continued.
Marcelo Brozovic moved to Al Nassr – to join Cristiano Ronaldo et al – Roberto Firmino completed a free transfer move to Al Ahli after leaving Liverpool, while Serbian star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic accepted a sensational move to Al Hilal.
The Liverpool connection will be present elsewhere in the Saudi Pro League next season, with Fabinho moving to Al Ittihad, and captain Jordan Henderson linking up (albeit briefly) with former Reds and England captain Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq. And although the stream of transfers slowed down in 2024, another Liverpool icon in Mo Salah is still on the Saudi wish-list for 2025, with Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr all linked with the Egyptian.
The biggest transfer to the Saudi Pro League so far has come via Al Hilal’s swoop on Paris Saint-Germain to sign world transfer record holder Neymar in 2023 – although things have really gone to plan for the Brazilian since that switch, with injuries biting hard.
The Sporting News looks at the biggest transfers to Saudi Arabia so far.
MORE: Ex Portugal coach reveals why Cristiano Ronaldo made move to Al Nassr
The biggest transfers to Saudi Arabia
Anderson Talisca was one of the first well-known names to join the Saudi Pro League. He moved to Al Nassr following a few years in China.
Cristiano Ronaldo then helped the league gain a lot more traction as he left Manchester United to also join Al Nassr after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo helped them gain a lot more viewers and showed the Saudi Pro League hierarchy they can attract big names. He was joined by Sadio Mane, signed from Bayern Munich, and other big names at Al Nassr.
Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema reportedly earns £84m ($107m) per year at Al Ittihad. World Cup winner Kante also reportedly makes £67.6m ($86m) per year across his four-year contract at the same club.
Al Hilal’s £47.1m ($60m) move for Ruben Neves from Premier League side Wolves set a new transfer record for the league in June but that benchmark was later broken by former Barcelona winger Malcom.
That was again smashed by Neymar, as the Brazil international completed his move from Paris to Riyadh, for a reported fee of £76.9m ($97.8m).
The 2024 summer transfers to the Saudi Pro League included Moussa Diaby’s big move to Al Ittihad, Ivan Toney going from Brentford to Al Ahli and reigning champions Al Hilal swooping for Joao Cancelo, Marcos Leonardo and Angelo. The 2024 transfer window didn’t quite see the same riches spent as its counterpart from 12 months earlier.
| Player | New Club | Transfer fee | Date Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcos Leonardo | Al Hilal | £41 ($33.7m) | September, 2024 |
| Ivan Toney | Al Ahli | £43m ($35m) | August, 2024 |
| Mohamed Simakan | Al Nassr | £30m ($36m) | August, 2024 |
| Joao Cancelo | Al Hilal | £20m ($25m) | August, 2024 |
| Moussa Diaby | Al Ittihad | £50m ($61.5m) | July, 2024 |
| Gini Wijnaldum | Al Ettifaq | £7.7m ($9.7m) | September, 2023 |
| Yassine Bounou | Al Hilal | £10.2m ($13m) | August, 2023 |
| Aleksandar Mitrovic | Al Hilal | £45m ($57m) | August, 2023 |
| Otavio | Al Nassr | £51.4m ($65m) | August, 2023 |
| Aymeric Laporte | Al Nassr | £23.5m ($29.8m) | August, 2023 |
| Neymar Jr | Al Hilal | £76.9m ($97.8m) | August, 2023 |
| Habib Diallo | Al Shabab | £15.3m ($19.4m) | August, 2023 |
| Fabinho | Al Ittihad | £35.9m ($45.6m) | August, 2023 |
| Roger Ibanez | Al Ahli | £25.6m ($32.6m) | August, 2023 |
| Franck Kessie | Al Ahli | £10.6m ($13.4m) | August, 2023 |
| Sadio Mane | Al Nassr | £24m ($30m) | August, 2023 |
| Allan Saint-Maximin | Al Ahli | £23m ($29.3m) | July, 2023 |
| Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli | £30m ($38.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Jordan Henderson | Al Ettifaq | £12m ($15.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Malcom | Al Hilal | £51.5m ($66.9m) | July, 2023 |
| Romain Saiss | Al Sadd | £2.2m ($2.8m) | July, 2023 |
| Alex Telles | Al Nassr | Free | July, 2023 |
| Seko Fofana | Al Nassr | £21.6m ($27.8m) | July, 2023 |
| Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Al Hilal | £34.2m ($44.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Roberto Firmino | Al Ahli | Free | July, 2023 |
| Marcelo Brozovic | Al Nassr | £15.4m ($19.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Jota | Al Ittihad | £25m ($31.7m) | July, 2023 |
| Edouard Mendy | Al Ahli | £16m ($20.2m) | June, 2023 |
| Karim Benzema | Al Ittihad | Free | June, 2023 |
| N’Golo Kante | Al Ittihad | Free | June, 2023 |
| Ruben Neves | Al Hilal | £47.1m ($60m) | June, 2023 |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | Al Hilal | £15.7m ($20m) | June, 2023 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | Free | January, 2023 |
| Anderson Talisca | Al Nassr | £6.9m ($8.8m) | July, 2021 |
Other stars linked to Saudi Arabia transfer
Liverpool superstar Mo Salah has been on the wish-list of a few Saudi sides for years and the summer of 2025 could finally be the time that he makes the move. His contract at Anfield is due to expire in June, so he would move without a transfer fee – but bag some big wages in the process.
Liverpool have also reportedly received a bid from Al-Hilal, worth around £70m ($85m) for Darwin Nunez. The star striker is said to be considering a move away from Anfield, although Liverpool value him a little higher than the current offer.
Manchester United reportedly want to sell Casemiro this month and the Saudi Pro League looks a likely destination for the Brazilian. Kyle Walker has also been linked with the league after it became clear he wants to leave Manchester City this month – but despite several Saudi teams showing reported interest in signing Walker, he looks set to stay in Europe.
Other players from European clubs who have been linked with Saudi clubs this January include Leeds winger Wilfried Gnonto, Wolves midfielder Mario Lemina and Marcus Rashford – although the United forward has reportedly turned down a ‘lucrative’ deal from a club in the middle east.
MORE: Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard opens up about shocking exit at Al-Ettifaq
International stars on Saudi Pro League teams
- Al Ittihad: Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Mario Mitaj, Danilo Pereira, Houssem Aouar, Moussa Diaby, Steven Bergwijn, Pedrag Rajkovic
- Al Nassr: Cristiano Ronaldo, Anderson Talisca, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte, Otavio Bento, Mohamed Simakan, Angelo, Wesley
- Al Hilal: Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Malcom, Neymar, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Bono, Marcos Leonardo, Renan Lodi, Joao Cancelo
- Al Shabab: Wesley Hoedt, Giacomo Bonaventura, Yannick Carrasco, Kim Seung-gyu, Daniel Podence
- Al Fateh: Jason Denayer
- Abha: Mo Barrow
- Al Ahli: Edouard Mendy, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Gabriel Veiga, Frank Kessie, Ivan Toney, Merih Demiral
- Al Ettifaq: Gini Wijnaldum, Moussa Dembele, Demarai Gray, Toko Ekambi
