Read the Saudi Union window: smash 950 million the world's second! Neymar Benzema leads the top 10 deals
At 5 a.m. Beijing time on September 8, the transfer window of the Saudi Pro League will officially close. This summer, the "sand banknote" stirred up the transfer market, and the limelight even exceeded the five major leagues!
950 million! Saudi United is second in the world
In the summer window of 2023, the Saudi league shocked the entire world football. They threw money and frantically poached people from major European clubs, so that public opinion and the market saw the real "banknote ability".
With the closure of the transfer window, according to the statistics of German transfer, Saudi United invested a total of 957 million euros in the summer window, close to the 1 billion mark, the second highest in the world, limited to 2.81 billion euros in the Premier League!
In comparison, Ligue 1 invested 898 million euros, Serie A 854 million euros, and Bundesliga 748 million euros, which is not as good as Saudi United. La Liga is only 440 million, less than half of the Saudi league. As for the Eredivisie and Portuguese Premier League, they are far from each other.
It's crazy, Saudi Arabia dug all over Europe
What is even more shocking is that after Ronaldo, more and more world-class stars have come to Saudi Arabia. Jeddah combined brought in Real Madrid's Benzema, Liverpool's Fabinho, Chelsea's N'Golo Kante, Celtic's Jota and Betis' Luis Felipe.
Riyadh victory got Bayern's Mane, Inter's Brozovic, Manchester City's Laporte, Manchester United's Telles, Porto's Ottavio and Lens Fofana.
Riyadh Crescent spent 90 million to sign Neymar of Greater Paris, as well as Chelsea's Koulibaly, Barca veteran Malcolm, Lazio's Milinkovic, Wolves' Neves, Fulham's Mitrovic, Sevilla FC's Bunu.
Jeddah Nationals bought Manchester City's Mahrez, Liverpool's Roberto Firmino, Chelsea's Edouard Mendy, Barcelona's Kessie, Newcastle's St. Maximin, Roma's Ibáñez, Celta's Bega and Atalanta's Demiral.
In addition, Dammam collaborated with Henderson in Liverpool, Wijnaldum in Paris, Moussa Dembele in Lyon, and Gray in Everton. Riyadh's youth have Atletico's Carrasco, Hasa conquers Belgium international Denayer, Riyadh Sports has Betis' Juanmi, Damac has Tottenham veteran Nkudou, Abha brings in AC Milan's goalkeeper Tatarusanu and Lyon's Ekambi, among others.
Why Saudi Arabia is throwing money like crazy
Football is Saudi Arabia's national strategy. In 2016, Saudi Arabia presented Vision 2030, which includes three themes: a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious country. Among the first themes is the development of culture, entertainment and sports.
As part of the "Saudi Vision 2030" development plan, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, acquired 75% of the shares of Jeddah United, Jeddah National, Riyadh Victory and Riyadh Crescent, transforming the four major clubs into companies, each owned by PIF and non-profit foundations (25%).
In this way, with the support of the state, Saudi clubs can throw money at people without constraint and restrictions, and they are not bad at all, and can offer high transfer fees and annual salaries, several times more than in Europe, which has formed a huge attraction for world-class stars.
Top 10 deals (not only transfer fees, comprehensive popularity, giants)
1. Neymar: Paris – Riyadh Crescent, 90 million
2. Benzema: Real Madrid – Jeddah United, free
3. Mane: Bayern – Riyadh victory, 30 million
4. Mahrez: Manchester City – Jeddah National, 35 million
5. Ngoro N'Golo-N'Golo Kante: Chelsea – Jeddah United, free
6. Brozovic: Inter – Riyadh Victory, 18 million
7. Fabinho: Liverpool-Jeddah United, 46.7 million
8. Henderson: Liverpool-Dammam collaboration, 14 million
9. Laporte: Manchester City – Riyadh Victory, 27.5 million
10. Kassie: Barcelona – Jeddah National, 12.5 million