The Saudi Championship changes its financial strategy and no longer spends lavishly

Particularly active on the transfer market for two years and the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in January 2023, the Saudi Arabian Championship (Saudi Pro League) opened the ball of transactions from January 1, 2025. But, while the recruitment of CR7 shook up the balance in the world of football and Saudi clubs, real political tools of “soft power”, attracted more and more big names (Neymar for 90 M€, Karim Benzema, Seko Fofana, Sadio Mané…) for considerable sums, the Saudi Pro League lost one of its jewels this Wednesday. Seko Fofana, who left Lens for Al-Nassr a year and a half ago, for 23 million euros, before being loaned in January 2024 to Al-Ettifaq, returns to Ligue 1 in Rennes where he signed until in 2029.

The 29-year-old Ivorian international midfielder will therefore not have been sensitive to Ronaldo's recent statements who assured that the L1 was not at the level of the Saudi Championship. This transfer from Saudi Arabia to Europe is a record since the launch of the local conquest operation. A year ago, Jordan Henderson, the ex-Liverpool captain, was the first international star to turn around six months after his arrival at Al-Ettifaq, in the direction of Ajax. Last summer, Allan Saint-Maximin (Al-Ahli) took charge of Fenerbahçe as part of a very expensive loan (€8 million) and the Portuguese Jota (ex-Celtic) left Al-Ittihad for €8 M€ for… Rennes.

Fofana's departure could lead to others – in September, still called up for the Spanish selection, Aymeric Laporte (Al-Nassr) had opened the way for a return to Europe -, as suggested in a press release from the SPL published on Monday: “The 18 clubs reached the maximum number of eight foreign players over the age of 21 per team at the end of the summer transfer window. Therefore, new signings in this category during the winter transfer window will force clubs to terminate contracts, sell players or remove members from the squad. »

Degrease to buy better?

Excluding departures, there remains little room for maneuver in the internationalization of the local championship, among aspiring players. At the end of the summer market, the clubs had used 16 of the 36 places available for foreigners under the age of 21 (2 per club), with the result, according to the Saudi Pro League “a decrease in the average age of players from 27.6 years to 26.2 years, reflecting the emphasis on acquiring young talent”. Last summer, the Saudi madness had already calmed down, the country on the Arabian peninsula certainly continuing to spend

but with fewer stars and more complementary players. In total, 101 foreigners had then joined the league for 32 departures. Saudi Arabia having been designated organizer of the 2034 World Cup in December, the SPL nevertheless recalls having “aims to position the Saudi Pro League among the most important football leagues in the world” with among the pillars of his“transformation strategy: developing and attracting the best talents; expand reach and revenues…”