The Saudi Pro League may have missed out on Lionel Messi, but it isn’t going away anytime soon.
It already has Ronaldo and Benzema with N’Golo Kante expected to join one of the league’s top four teams imminently.
The Saudi Pro League is serious about bringing world stars to play in Saudi Arabia and has the money to do so. The question is, is it sustainable?
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This is not the first league to attempt to compete with the European Leagues. The Chinese Super League famously attracted the likes of Andres Iniesta and Carlos Tevez.
However, sponsors lost interest and the league failed to establish itself as a destination for top talent. The key to legitimacy for the Saudi Pro League may lie in the financial might of the English Premier League.
Ronaldo and Benzema are two of the best players the world has ever seen, no doubt about it. However, they are approaching retirement and were leaving their clubs anyway. N’Golo Kante is a Premier League star, albeit an aging one.
If Saudi Arabia can import Premier League talent directly into their league, they can fastrack its progress.
Premier League teams, particularly those at the top of the table, have an issue with selling players. A rotation player on an average Premier League salary would be the highest paid player on almost every other team in every other league in Europe. The transfer fees and wages involved prohibit Premier League teams from recycling their squads effectively.
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Chelsea would probably prefer to keep Kante, but they do need to sell players to avoid FFP sanctions. Rich Saudi Arabian teams for whom money is no object could provide a way out for squad players they’d otherwise struggle to sell.
Such a relationship with the Premier League could see the Saudi Pro League develop faster than the Chinese Super League. They’ve got their foot in the door, now what are they going to do once they’re in the room?
