For several months now, Saudi Arabia has been strong on the transfer market. Huge stars have joined the Saudi Pro League, such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar Jr. The clubs in question have not paid a cent.

Like Qatar, Saudi Arabia also plans to develop its football with millions. The Saudi Pro League has seen many stars arrive in recent months. Cristiano Ronaldo led the way when he arrived at Al-Nassr. The former Real Madrid player has indeed allowed other players to take the plunge and join a hitherto little-known league. Last summer, Neymar also landed in Saudi Arabia, at Al-Hilal. And the amounts spent seem crazy. But while some may worry about the health of Saudi clubs, there is no need to be.

Saudi clubs risk nothing at all

According to the vice-president of the board of directors of the Saudi Pro League, Saad Al-Laziz, it is in fact the league, via the Kingdom Investment Fund (PIF), which covers all costs linked to transfer fees and player salaries. Al Nassr for Cristiano Ronaldo or even Al-Hilal for Neymar therefore do not pay a cent. Same with the other stars. “Al-Nassr did not pay a single dollar to bring 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.”, also specified Al-Laziz. Under these conditions, and Saudi Arabia being a bottomless pit, we can easily imagine that the crazy spending will continue soon. At least until the 2034 World Cup, which will be hosted by the Middle Eastern country.