After spending nearly a billion euros to attract stars to its modest championship, Saudi Arabia has eased off on transfers this year, dividing its spending by two, against a backdrop of budgetary pressures in the oil monarchy. The amount of transfers in Saudi clubs – boosted in 2023 by the arrival of Chritiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane and Neymar – fell from 871 million euros to 392 million euros during the last window.
The Saudi Pro League, ranked the second highest-spending championship after the Premier League in the summer of 2023, fell to sixth place this year, behind the main European championships that it aims to compete with. “I think they reached their goal last year (…) they put the league on the map“says researcher James Dorsey of the University of Singapore. Players like Ronaldo and others attract the public (…) The question is how to maintain this“.
The ambitions of Saudi football, fueled by oil revenues, are reminiscent of those of the Chinese Super League, whose clubs recruited players at exorbitant salaries before their owners went bankrupt. Saudi Arabia, which plans to host the World Cup in 2034 and is investing billions of euros to become a business and tourism destination before the end of the oil era, is however expected to continue to develop its local championship.
“There are more thoughtful and strategic ways to address talent acquisition challenges, and there is a sense that the Saudis are considering them“, estimates Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the Skema Business School in Paris. For him, the recruitments are incredible”are not over forever“even if it is”unlikely“that the 2023 scenario repeats itself regularly.
The drop in football spending comes against a backdrop of increased budgetary pressures in the Gulf kingdom, which is engaged in an ambitious reform program including several mega-projects, at a time when its oil revenues are falling. Last April, the Saudi finance minister said that global economic shocks had forced authorities to reschedule some of these projects.
Authorities said last month they forecast a public deficit until 2027, while the Public Investment Fund, whose vast portfolio includes four of Saudi Arabia’s biggest football clubs, has issued bonds four times this year. State-owned oil giant Aramco also sold shares worth more than $11.2 billion to provide short-term support to the country’s finances, experts said.
The country has suspended many projects this year to assess their value for money, says Simon Chadwick. But the expensive recruitment of famous players “is a long-term financial burden that does not guarantee success, especially of the Saudi national team“. Especially since “the expected commercial benefits (including television contracts and merchandising) have not materialized so far, hence the need to reassess priorities and objectives“, he adds.
Cristiano Ronaldo with Al Nassr.
Credit: Getty Images
“Any sports project requires a lot of expenses at the start“, recalls for his part Mohamed Mandour, journalist from the Sportsdata site, according to which the Saudi Pro League demonstrates “realism and rationality“, while searching”sponsors and resources for clubs“particularly from abroad.”This year’s spending reflects the league’s maturity and willingness to address teams’ technical gapsadds a Saudi league official, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Who said we have to sign a big player every summer?”
Saudi clubs are not the only ones to limit their purchases, the wealthy Premier League having also halved its spending this year. Globally, the amount of transfers in men’s football fell by 13% compared to the previous year, to 5.8 billion euros this summer, according to FIFA. “A wind of austerity is blowing through football, reflecting wider economic and political problems across the world“, says Simon Chadwick.
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