The main transfer events in 2023 are related to Saudi Arabia. Many star players have changed Europe to an Arab country. We tell you which of the players have already been acquired by Saudi clubs and who will be there in the near future. All amounts are based on Transfermarkt data.
“Al-Hilal” (total cost of the composition – 163.6 million euros)
This summer, Al-Hilal spent 178 million euros on the acquisition of new players. Four foreign players joined the squad, three of whom came from the top leagues. Forward Malcom became the most expensive signing – the club paid 60 million euros for Zenit for him. A little less (55 million euros) was paid for midfielder Ruben Neves, who played for Wolverhampton last season. The central defender Kalidou Coulibaly was attracted from England, specifically from Chelsea (23 million euros), and the midfielder Sergei Milinkovic-Savic arrived from Italy. For the Serbian, Lazio received 40 million euros.
Sergei Milinkovic-Savic, Malcolm, Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves in Al-Hilal
Photo: alhilal.com
Not surprisingly, all of Al-Hilal’s recruits are in the top 4 teams by value. Fifth place in this indicator is occupied by the Brazilian winger Mikael (8 million euros). For comparison, the cost of Milinkovic-Savic (the club’s most valuable player) is 50 million euros.
Apparently, PSG midfielder Marco Verratti will soon become another newcomer. By the way, the head coach position is held by Jorge Jesús, who already worked with Al-Hilal from the summer of 2018 to January 2019. Afterwards, the specialist coached Flamengo, Benfica and Fenerbahçe, and this summer he returned to the East Half.
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“Al-Nasr” (total cost of the composition – 128.58 million euros)
The team where Cristiano Ronaldo plays spent 50 million euros on the acquisition of three newcomers, half of this amount was transferred to midfielder Seko Fofan, who moved to Saudi Arabia from Lance. €18 million was paid for Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, €7 million for full-back Alex Telles. By the way, the Brazilian already played in the same team with Ronaldo – they played together for Manchester United.
Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic and Alex Telles in Al Nasr
Photo: Getty Images
They will be joined very soon by Sadio Mane, who will be given a big contract. Bayern will receive 32 million euros for the player, approximately the same amount for each year of the contract will go to the Senegalese.
All of the newcomers were in the top 8 players on the team by value. Also there were Ronaldo and the Brazilian Talisca, each valued at 15 million euros. The most expensive player was Fofana, who cost 32 million euros. The coaching position is Luis Castro. The Portuguese took charge of the club this summer, having previously coached Botafogo. By the way, from August 2021 to March 2022, Castro lived in Qatar, where he worked with the local club Al-Duhail.
Newcastle attacking player Allan Saint-Maximin will join the team very soon. The parties have already agreed on the details of the deal (information from informant Fabrizio Romano).
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Al-Ahli (total composition cost – €95.08 million)
All four of Al Ahly’s top newcomers played in England last season. Midfielder Riyad Mahrez was bought from Manchester City for €30 million, Allan Sainte-Maximin from Newcastle for €27.2 million and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Chelsea for €18.5 million. Al Ahly has so far spent the money (80.7 million euros) in just acquiring three new players And the fourth recruit, Roberto Firmino, moved to Al-Ahli as a free agent. Before that, he had been playing for Liverpool for a number of years.
Riyad Mahrez, Edouard Mendy and Roberto Firmino in Al Ahli
Photo: alahlifc.sa
Not surprisingly, Sainte-Maximin, Mahrez, Mendy and Firmino became the most expensive players in the club. In total, they cost 82 million euros: the Frenchman is estimated at 32 million euros, the Algerian at 20 million euros, the Brazilian at 18 million euros, the Senegalese at 12 million euros. Al-Ahly recently found a coach in chief. The Arab club agreed with Matthias Jaissle – preliminary negotiations became the reason for the early dismissal of the Salzburg coach. It is curious that the Austrian club decided to take such a step a couple of days before the start of the season.
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“Al-Ittihad” (total cost of the composition – 78 million euros)
This club, unlike its competitors, spent only 29.1 million euros on newcomers. All this amount went to Celtic’s bank account – it was he who sold the Portuguese winger Jota to Al-Ittihad. This is not the highest status newcomer. Earlier, Al-Ittihad attracted two deep-pocketed Frenchmen: striker Karim Benzema and midfielder N’Golo Kante. Both signed contracts as free agents.
Al-Ittihad is currently in active talks with Liverpool midfielder Fabinho. They are not easy, but the desire of the Arab club does not wane.
Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante and Diogo Jota in Al Ittihad
Photo: Getty Images/ittihadclub.sa
Benzema is the most expensive player in the club (25 million euros). The top 3 also includes Kante (€15M) and Jota (€13M). Al-Ittihad’s head coach position is held by a foreigner. Nuno Espirito Santo took charge of the club in July 2022, having gained a wealth of experience in Europe before that. He previously worked with Porto, Wolverhampton and Tottenham Hotspur. Under Santo’s management, Al-Ittihad played 36 games and suffered only three defeats.
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“Al-Ittifaq” (the cost of the composition – €44.93 million)
Al-Ittifaq has so far spent a modest €20.9 million on the newcomers. With this money, the team acquired two British footballers. The Englishman Jordan Henderson left Liverpool (paying 14 million euros) and the Scotsman Jack Hendry left Club Brugge (paying 6.9 million euros). Al-Ittifaq’s third signing is striker Moussa Dembele. The 27-year-old forward spent the previous season at Lyon and moved to the Arab country as a free agent.
Jordan Henderson and Moussa Dembele in Al Ittifaq
Photo: ettifaq.com
Dembélé (12 million euros) and Henderson (10 million euros) are the most expensive players at the club. The third line is shared by two players at the same time. The cost of the Swede Robin Quison and the Turkish Berat Ozdemir is 4.5 million euros. By the way, striker Vitinho plays in Al-Ittifaq. The same one who at the time played in Russia for CSKA. The head coach position of the Saudi club has recently been filled by Steven Gerrard. This is the first experience of a specialist outside the UK. He previously worked for Liverpool, Rangers and Aston Villa.
