Beware, The Saudis Are Coming

The Saudis have really come to play, haven’t they? Since the transfer window opened, there has been a mass exodus of players leaving the top European Leagues to ply their trade in the Middle East. The question now seems to be, are Saudi Arabia single-handedly destroying football as we know it? At this point, we don’t know yet, but they are shaking up the sport. It’s time we talk about the newly formed disruptors of the beautiful game.

---

The Domino Effect

Middle Eastern countries have been involved with football teams for a while now, whether it’s through direct ownership or partial investment. Examples include Newcastle being owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund; PSG being owned by Qatar Sports Investments & Sheikh Mansour (an Emirati royal) being the majority owner of Manchester City. However, in terms of clubs/owners being able to attract top talent, they didn’t always have the pull. That all changed when Cristiano Ronaldo went to Al Nassr. Whilst it was on a free, the move was a statement signing, as arguably the most marketable footballer on the planet had chosen to be a part of this Saudi revolution. Once one big name went to the Saudi Pro League, it was always going to create a domino effect, where more and more players would end up there as well. How long will this domino effect last for? That’s unknown. The Saudi government is rapidly trying to expand its economy through other industries aside from oil, and sport (specifically football) is one area they are looking to grow. With seemingly endless amounts of money to play with (I’ll touch on this a bit later), it seems like this contagion is only going to continue.

---

No One is Safe

The Saudi’s aren’t adopting a cautious approach when attempting to attract talent from Europe. They’re going gung-ho, leaving no stone left unturned, and going all out. We’ve seen that no European team is safe from the Saudis. You could be one of the best players in the world, at a top team who is consistently winning or competing for trophies, and yet, you could be lured by the glitz and glamour of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (like a Karim Benzema). You could be a player in the prime of your career, who could have chosen to play for one of the European heavyweights, but instead, were once again enticed by otherworldly levels of money (e.g., a Ruben Neves). Or even, you could be considered to be a club legend (captain even) and despite all your previous misgivings, still be swayed by the financial allure (step up Jordan Henderson). My point is, no matter what type of player you are, or what your motivations are or what stage of your career you’re at, if a Saudi Pro League team wants you, it may become very hard for a player to resist. From my view, the hope is that Europe isn’t left with a dearth of talent simply because players care about the mighty dollar more than anything else.

---

History Repeating Itself?

What’s happening in Saudi Arabia can be likened to what the the Chinese Super League (CSL) did previously. A few years prior, China was the one to carry the mantle of a burgeoning Asian superpower. The CSL had been buying players from European Leagues from as early as 2011, but it really catapulted during 2016 with the signing of Ezequiel Lavezzi from PSG. Similarly, to the Ronaldo signing, it had a knock-on effect, whereby the following summer players more and more players were now playing in China. In the 2016/17 winter transfer window alone, Chinese clubs spent over $400m, more than any other league in the world. Let’s be clear though, there are two distinct differences between the events in China and in Saudi Arabia. Firstly, none of the players that went to China were, at the time, the best in the world. They were either good (but not great) decent players who were looking to get paid or players who were past their best. Secondly, and this is the crucial difference, there doesn’t seem to be any let up from the Saudis. After a while, the CSL introduced a new transfer tax to restrict transfer spending on foreign players. The Saudis don’t seem interested in enacting a similar rule. Unless the Saudis suddenly have a change of heart, it doesn’t look like this will be another case of history repeating itself.

---

The Market is Finished

One of the negative effects of the transfer business being conducted by in the Gulf region is the massively inflated player values. Given the masses of money within football, transfer prices are always going to be on the rise (that’s just the nature of modernisation and increased consumer demand). Except the Saudis are making a mockery of the transfer market. Just recently, Al Hilal had a world-record £258m bid accepted for Kylian Mbappe. Even more remarkably, the one-year contract he was offered would have amounted to a whopping £602m. Specifically, the wages that these teams can offer players is nuts. To think that any one footballer could earn that much in just a year is ridiculous to say the least. There are only a handful of clubs in Europe that can compete with the money that the Saudis have to work with. Most likely, if any European team is going to end up in the bidding war with their Middle Eastern counterparts, there’s only going to be one winner. It won’t be long before we see the first billion-pound bid be made for a player, and you can bet your bottom dollar that we’ll have the Saudis to thank for that.

---

This Week’s Hot Take

At some point, the European leagues should stop doing business with teams in Saudi Arabia. I’m all for them wanting to improve sport in their country and attract more players, but there’s a right way of doing it. Simply throwing dumb levels of money left, right and centre, with no regard to how it will affect the transfer market in years to come, is not how it should be done. You should want players to come to the league not just for the money, but because of the competitiveness and the prospect of it being one of the best leagues in the world. Until that happens (which I cannot see for the life of me), European leagues need to take action, and fast.