One of the biggest headlines we have had to deal with in the past 10 months was the emergence of the Saudi Pro League as a force in world football. Well it all started with Saudi Arabia’s famous win over eventual world champions Argentina at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A few weeks later Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s biggest players switched to the Saudi league and there would later be overtures to try and lure Lionel Messi to join him in the league.
Well, Messi didn’t heed to the calls and chose a different path, but the Saudi Pro league and Saudi Market had made a statement. Indeed, we saw massive exits from Europe to Saudi Arabia, big players switching with the definite promise of huge perks. However not all the top players were lured by the monetary bait, a good number rejected, seeking to pursue their ambitions in Europe.
Transfer period in the Saudi market
As time passed it emerged that the Saudi Pro League razzmatazz would only last the transfer period. There isn’t much about the league after that, which is as eye-catching as in Europe. Thus, diminishing the assumption that in terms of popularity, the Saudi league has what it takes to surpass European leagues. Some of the best football betting sites are rarely covering the Saudi leagues, leaving punters with few options on that. Cheekypunter are however doing well to profile some of the top bookies covering this league. You can read their updated list of online football betting sites here, including the welcome offers and top features.
Here we try to dissect some of the reasons why. First of all, a good number of top stars that moved to the Saudi Pro league are past their prime, or almost hitting their prime. A good number of them openly declared they made this move for the money. Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, is not the same player who turned heads at Manchester United and Real Madrid. At the time of his move, he wasn’t even commanding a starting berth at Manchester United. The same could be said of Neymar, Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ngolo Kante and more as the Saudi Market caught their attention.
Sustainability argument around the Saudi market
There has been a big argument on the sustainability of the Saudi Pro league, even as it attempts to shake off the calls that it is a retirement league. Well, what is happening at the Saudi league was seen with the Chinese a while back. The Saudi’s try to argue that theirs is a different model but the fact that they aren’t investing in academies and youth structures as much as they are doing with established players, this seems like a castle built on sand.
The reason the European leagues have reached where they are is purely because of years of investment in youth structures, financial administration and sustainable foresight, with issues like broadcast and many more commercial rights. These are the factors that keep the money flowing at European sides, and also keep players wanting to move there. Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe’s rejection of moves to Saudi Arabia are cases in point. What has been witnessed in the last few months is that the Saudi Market and it’s league will stay in the headlines for as long as the transfer market is open. After that there isn’t much to report on.
See More:
- Top 10 Most Expensive Signings this Summer
- Top 10 Deals of Summer Transfer Window 2023
- Top 10 Highest paid players in Saudi Pro League
