The sensational effect caused by Riyadh's victorious signing of Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Saudi league a taste of sweetness. ESPN's Carlson revealed on Friday that the Saudi league plans to sign up to 50 players from the five major leagues and the Portuguese Premier League in the summer window, a plan supported by the Saudi sports ministry.
Saudi Arabia will host the Club World Cup for the first time in December and also plans to bid for the 2030 World Cup, so it hopes to use football to expand its influence. After Cristiano Ronaldo joined Riyadh Victory, the influence of the Saudi Premier League expanded rapidly, and many countries, including Portugal, Italy, Germany and Greece, bought the broadcast rights of the Saudi League.
Subsequently, Riyadh Crescent offered Messi an annual salary of 420 million euros, which made fans look forward to Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi playing in the same league for the first time since 2018. However, this is only part of the Saudi league's larger recruitment plan.
Saudi sources revealed that the Saudi league plans to sign up to 50 players from the five major leagues and the Portuguese Premier League in the summer window, a plan supported by the Saudi sports department.
Some players whose contracts are expiring will be the focus of the Saudi league, with Messi being the biggest player, and others including Roberto Firmino, Gundogan, Traore, Mina and Doucoure. According to sources, European clubs are currently experiencing widespread financial difficulties, which have given the Saudi league the opportunity to sign top players.
Currently, teams in the Saudi League can have up to 8 non-Saudi players, 7 can play in the match, and 16 teams have more than 6 foreign players, and most of them are full.
The effect of Riyadh's victorious signing of Cristiano Ronaldo has led other clubs to decide to improve the quality of their teams in the summer window. However, an agent revealed that although he paid Cristiano Ronaldo a sky-high annual salary and also offered a huge annual salary to Messi, the Saudi league will not offer an outrageous annual salary when poaching people in the summer window.
Insiders revealed, "This will not be like the Chinese Super League a few years ago. As the Qatar World Cup demonstrated, the Saudi league aims to develop into the best league in the region. It's not about signing the world's 50 best players, it's about boosting the league's strength and visibility and making the Saudi league the preferred destination outside Europe's top five. ”