With Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema already in Saudi Arabia, here are nine more footballers who could soon be among the world's highest-paid players with moves to the Saudi Pro League!
Check Out: Ronaldo Slammed After First Six Months At Al Nassr
When he signed for Al Nassr in the January transfer window halfway through the 2022/23 season, not many would have anticipated what was to come when it was perhaps obvious and staring us all in the face. Saudi Arabia wants its top football league to be considered among the world's strongest in the years to come, and they've started by ambitiously aiming to sign household names, players who will help boost the profile of the SPL.
Ronaldo's arrival did just that earlier this year, even though his decision to leave Europe for the Middle East was ridiculed at the time. While it is still early days, it is expected that the ex-Real Madrid and Manchester United No. 7 will be thought of in the Gulf country similarly to how David Beckham was following his move to the MLS in 2007. He will be considered as the ultimate influencer, the man who kick-started a new movement in the beautiful game.
Here are nine more footballers linked with big-money contracts in Saudi Arabia:
Lionel Messi was chased by Al Hilal to no avail, but league winners Al Ittihad were successful in their pursuit of 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Benzema, who was unveiled in Saudi Arabia on Thursday as the division's newest marquee signing on a contract worth about €200 million (R4 billion) a year. Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante, if reports are to be believed, will soon join Benzema at Al Ittihad and earn €100 million (R2 billion) annually. Angel Di Maria, Sergio Busquets and Hugo Lloris have also emerged as targets for the league's biggest clubs, who are being funded by the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahli are among those sides heading into the transfer window with a seemingly endless supply of resources, with Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez believed to be a priority target for the club following their promotion from the first division. It is claimed there is concrete interest in the Algerian from Al Ahli, with Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang another African superstar reportedly on their radar. Whether Mosimane leaves or remains at the club, it seems the Jeddah-based giants will return to the SPL with a bang.
Check Out: Messi: Why I Won't Return To Barcelona
Germany international and City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is rumoured to be a target for the league too, along with Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and ex-Los Blancos captain Sergio Ramos. It was confirmed by Paris Saint-Germain that the Spaniard would be moving on at the end of his contract this month, with the veteran centre-back set to be tempted by a lucrative offer from the men hopeful of luring more mega-stars to the Middle East for the 2023/24 campaign.
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