Saudi Arabia poachs strongmen! Former Barcelona director will change jobs: sign a contract for 3 years with a total salary of 8 million
The Saudi tycoons wielding banknotes poached football strongmen from Europe. On January 10, authoritative transfer reporter Romano, Spain's relevo and other media have confirmed that former Barcelona director Ramon Pranes is about to leave Betis and join Saudi Arabia's defending champion Jeddah United on a three-year contract with a total salary of 8 million euros.
The 56-year-old Ramón Planes is well known in Spanish football, having served as sporting director at Alaves, Espanyol, Elche, Rayo Vallecano and Getafe. In the summer of 2020, Pranes became Barça's sporting director, leaving in November 2021. In May last year, Pranes moved to Betis as the club's sporting director.
The position of sports director is mainly responsible for the recruitment and construction of the team structure. Ramon Planes has a wide range of contacts and an eye for spotting talent.
Barcelona's Pedri is a typical example - when Barcelona signed Pedri from Las Palmas for 4 million euros, many people did not understand the operation of Pranes, and it turned out to be a stroke of genius by Pranes. Araujo is also a god for Planes, signing the Uruguayan defender for only 1.7 million euros.
Pranes' ability is well-known in the industry. Saudi giants Jeddah United also want to poach Planes to create an excellent transfer framework for the club and tap potential talents.
In order to bring in Planes, Jeddah United is also full of sincerity: a three-year contract with a total salary of 8 million euros! For Planes, this is an invitation that cannot be refused - you know, Monchi, who is considered the "Messi of the director's circle", has a salary of about this amount. Inter's Marotta, with an annual salary of 1.5 million euros, is already the highest-paid manager in Serie A.
Betis also want to keep Paulanes, whose contract with the club expires in 2026. However, Pranes has agreed to Jeddah United and will go through the formalities of resignation. After arriving at Jeddah United, Planes will work with coach Gallardo to try to make Jeddah United bounce back. Jeddah United, the defending champions and a superstar like Karim Benzema, are only seventh in the standings, 25 points behind the leaders Crescent.