This summer’s transfer window will be remembered for the emergence of a new power in world football: Saudi Arabia.
After Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr in January, a series of top players have followed the Portuguese to the Saudi Pro League this summer.
The Saudis have spent in excess of £700 million this transfer window, with Neymar, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, N’Golo Kante, Jordan Henderson, Gabri Veiga and Roberto Firmino among the biggest names to have swapped Europe’s elite competitions for a lucrative spell in Saudi Arabia.
And the Saudis are not finished yet. In fact, they are probably just getting started as they look to establish the Pro League as one of the top competitions in world football.
In the past couple of weeks, Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been persistently linked with a big-money move to Al-Ittihad for around £150m, with the Saudis reportedly willing to up their offer for the Egyptian to an incredible £200m.
Reds manager Jurgen Klopp has sought to draw a line under the speculation by saying his player is not for sale, but the saga is not quite over yet for the Anfield club because the Saudi Pro League’s transfer window is still open.
When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window close?
While deadline day came and went for most of Europe’s top leagues on Friday, Saudi Arabian sides can still complete transfers this summer.
The transfer window opened for Saudi sides on July 1st and remains open for another few days, until September 7th.
There had been some confusion over when the window would shut for the Saudi Pro League, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently complaining that the Kingdom’s clubs would have an additional three weeks to sign players.
That is because FIFA had September 20 listed as the deadline for the Saudi Pro League. However, the organisation allows national football associations to choose a specific date within a designated period and according to the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) website, the time frame for registering new players will end on September 7th.
So Saudi Pro Leagues have until this Thursday to sign new players, which means there could still be some big moves in the next few days.
Klopp has voiced his concern that Saudi sides have longer to complete transfers and wants UEFA or FIFA to act in order to bring the deadline in line with the Premier League and the rest of Europe.
“UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that,” he said recently. “But in the end, at this moment, I don’t know exactly what will happen. It’s already influential for us, but we will have to learn to deal with it. Time will show.”
More Saudi Pro League news
Liverpool have reportedly been offered a staggering £200 million for forward Mohamed Salah by the Saudis.
Meanwhile, Sergio Ramos could be in line to link up with former Real Madrid team-mate Karim Benzema in the Saudi Pro League.
Another ex-Real Madrid star, Cristiano Ronaldo, was the first big name to move to the Saudi Pro League. And the Portuguese, who plays for Al-Nassr, hit another big goal milestone on Saturday.
