Saudi Arabia's Pro League, New Power In The World Football Transfer Market

Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the stars that made the Saudi Arabian Pro League included in the world's top football map (Instagram/@cristiano).

JAKARTA - The transfer market has been getting hotter since the Saudi Arabian Pro League club also took aim at Europe's top players.

Funds are an excuse they are not afraid to compete with European clubs in hunting for the best players.

In this summer's window, the target of the Saudi Arabian Pro League club is aimed at players in the Premier League.

Two big names are hot commodities, Mohamed Salah and Kevin de Bruyne. The Saudi Arabian clubs will immediately bid if they have the opportunity.

So far, there are two possibilities Saudi Arabian clubs can do on the stock exchange as before.

First, hijacking players whose contracts expire with the lure of high salaries. Second, they are ready to spend a lot of money to acquire in the January or winter market when the market is sluggish.

The second choice has indeed made Saudi Arabian clubs spend money considering that the time of the transfer window occurred in the middle of the season when the players were still in the middle of the contract.

However, that's not a big deal. In any way, the Saudi Arabian club is ready to do so.

The proof is that the Saudi Arabian Pro League team spent around 700 million last summer to attract star players.

That figure places them only in fourth place in the league with the biggest transfer fees, behind the Premier League, Ligue 1, and Serie A.

A total of 560 million of them were spent on Premier League players. Those who moved to Saudi Arabia included Liverpool duo, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, as well as Chelsea trio, NGolo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Edouard Mendy.

However, the transfer of Moussa Diaby for 50.5 million pounds from Aston Villa to Al Ittihad in July 2024 was the only major deal made in the history of Saudi Arabia's summer exchanges.

Meanwhile, the Player Acquisition Center of Excellence (PACE), one of Saudi Arabia's Pro League transformation programs in player purchases, has an eight-year budget for international transfers when it was founded last year.

At least some big names will come again soon. The new name is Salah and De Bruyne.

Saudi Arabia's Pro League club may find it difficult to recruit them now. You see, their contracts with their respective clubs are still in the negotiation stage.

If both agree to a new contract, at least the Saudi Arabian club can aim for it in the January 2025 window.

However, the recruitment time and the names of the players who come can affect the Saudi Arabian Pro League's broadcasting rights income which will be completed by the end of next season.

The estimate is that bringing in new players now will not actually boost the income of broadcasting rights which is already 100 million pounds per year.

At best, the arrival of new players only adds about 10-15 million pounds to that amount from broadcasters outside Saudi Arabia.

However, things are different when the right recruitment time and the names of the players who come are quite large. Revenue can change drastically. For example, the presence of Salah and De Bruyne is predicted to increase broadcasting rights.

Not surprisingly, PACE emphasizes that future transfer spending will be more quality than quantity.

Then, the desire to make the league more competitive will make talent spread more evenly in the future.

"League growth is a long-term project. A solid budget is already available for the league to get players."

"The new players have a positive influence as we try and raise standards," said Peter Saharson, a member of the Saudi Arabia Pro League board.

Saudi Arabia's presence in the world's top football map is not only limited to the league. Their tycoons also control several top European clubs, causing a chain effect.

According to Dr. Tom Bason from the Business Center in Coventry University, said the situation confirmed that Saudi Arabia wanted to try to concentrate world football on the Middle East.

"Last year's window started with an injection of funds from Saudi Arabia. Whether it's a transfer fee that allows clubs to spend money or clubs capable of recruiting players on large contracts."

"Without money from Saudi Arabia, many clubs don't have enough money to spend," said Tom Bason.

Saudi Arabia, both clubs and tycoons, is the largest new power center in the transfer market. Their spending was recorded to represent nearly half of the league's revenue from overseas clubs, sparking record board spending of 2.36 billion pounds.