As word of the salaries in the Saudi Pro League has filtered back to Europe in the past fortnight, it has come with a message of intent attached. In the lobbies of five-star hotels to the beach clubs of the Mediterranean and the parade ring of Royal Ascot, football agents have been told the new superpower in the transfer market is here to stay. Intermediaries made good money from the Chinese Super League when it started spending heavily in 2016, taking Carlos Tevez, Ramires and Oscar to the Far East and plucking Graziano Pelle from Southampton to make him one of the world’s best-paid players.
Contracts worth £250,000 per week were negotiated before the bubble burst and more recent Chinese Super League news came in 2021 when Jiangsu FC, champions at the time, ceased to exist. But, in the past fortnight, the brokers and players representatives exploring deals in the Middle East say there is a different feel in Saudi Arabia. The country has an infrastructure that has hosted boxing, Formula One and, to use a football analogy, has gone two-footed into the world of golf. “People are thinking this is a flash in the pan but they want to make it one of the biggest leagues in the world,” one agent with knowledge of the Saudi market said.
Having appointed Garry Cook, the former Manchester City executive, as CEO, the Saudi Pro League is expected by some to follow the path of this season’s Treble winners in terms of the signings when they were taken over; ‘Galacticos’ at the start such as Cristiano Ronaldo – or Robinho for City – but eventually younger players at their peak, which is projected in two or three transfer windows. Cook was appointed in January but has been linked with a role at Birmingham City. Who are the key agents in this new landscape? It would be tempting to say Jorge Mendes after his client Ruben Neves made a somewhat surprise move to Al Hilal. Helder Costa, his old Wolves and Gestifute agency stablemate, was already in Saudi Arabia on loan from Leeds United and Bernardo Silva is wanted in Saudi.
Mendes’s client Nuno Espirito Santo is also manager at Al Ittihad. But this is no monopoly and Mendes is not the only intermediary in town. In fact, Mendes was believed to be not involved in Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr, his long-term client arriving in Saudi with Ricardo “Ricky” Regufe by his side to finalise the £175 million-per-season deal after leaving Manchester United in December. Other agents and agencies have been involved in getting players to the country, such as Grzegorz Krychowiak (CAA Stellar), Ahmed Hegazi’s initial loan from West Bromwich Albion (New Era) and former United striker Odion Ighalo (agent Ladi Salami).
Helping the Saudi Pro League simplify the process with intermediaries is the way they have gone for free transfers. With no fee to be negotiated between clubs, there is no brokering to be done at the other end of the deal. The Saudis can go straight to the agents of the players to bring them to the Middle East. It is understood that landing players with Ballon d’Ors and Champions League winners’ medals in their collections involved a system that went to the very top. According to sources with knowledge of the Saudi Pro League market, clubs acted on their own when it came to relatively straightforward signings in which players were earning around £2-£3 million net per year.
However, signing a “designated player” would involve the club submitting a request to the Saudi Ministry of Sport, which makes a decision on the value of the player before funding is given to complete the deal. For the agents, the key relationship was with the presidents of the clubs making the requests. The most important part of the process was the Saudi Ministry of Sport, headed by minister of sport Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Saud. “I can say that we have a strong league. It’s not one of the strongest in Asia. We’re building towards a better future, and we see how the future holds up for that,” Prince Abdulaziz said when interviewed by Sky during the World Cup last year, before the Ronaldo deal was struck.
The country’s Public Investment Fund, which owns Newcastle United, will also be a key player in the emergence of Saudi Arabia as a destination for high-profile footballers. It was announced this month that PIF had taken over four of the Saudi Pro League’s leading clubs: Al Ittihad, Al Nassr and Al Hilal – the top three this season – plus second-tier champions Al Ahli. Plenty more will be tempted by the salaries on offer, even if the reported sums are believed to be a mix of basic wage topped up by commercial work for a bumper payday. Romelu Lukaku rejected an approach but Inter Milan team-mate Marcelo Brozovic, who was playing in the Champions League final a few weeks ago, is considering the move.
Sadio Mane is in the bracket of 30-year-old-plus forwards who can boost the profile of the league. He is available from Bayern Munich. The Chelsea clear-out could continue beyond N’Golo Kanté, with Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech other European champions with suitors. The targets will continue, with Saudi Arabia determined to make its competition credible. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.