After spending close to 1 billion dollars in the 2023 transfer window, the Saudi Pro League has cut spending on new stars of the beautiful game by half.
Aiming to put the league on the map, the Saudi monarchy, through the Public Investment Fund, brought in sports stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, second most Ballon d’Or winners, Karim Benzema, Real Madrid’s second all-time top scorer, N’golo Kanté, MVP of the 2021 Champions League final, Sadio Mané, Africa Cup of Nations winner with Senegal, Neymar Jr, Olympic gold medallist with Brazil at the Tokyo Olympics, Yassine Bounou, first-choice goalkeeper for Morocco, and Aymeric Laporte, European Championship winner with Spain.
Second only to the Premier League, the Saudi league was the competition that invested the most money in 2023. However, in the last transfer window it dropped to sixth position behind the ‘Big 5 leagues’, with which it is looking to compete.
This turnaround is because the league is now looking to strengthen its technical structure and improve football from the academies so that the success of the clubs at national and international level will soon trickle down to the national team.
Saudi league officials are reviewing the profitability of the major investment, as the country faces difficulties in modernising its oil economy due to budget strains. While attracting figures of Cristiano Ronaldo’s popularity is a huge step in popularity, the league’s main mission is to keep the focus on the long term.
Despite comparisons with the Chinese league’s investments, Saudi investments have proven to have a greater impact, for example, Cristiano Ronaldo’s presentation with Al-Nassr was watched by more than 2 billion people.
The country’s football league is currently undergoing a revamp to attract more tourists and business as it seeks to diversify its economy in the face of declining global demand for oil. Expensive and luxurious transfers will remain a possibility, although a repeat of 2023 is unlikely to happen often.
Spending on football has declined due to cuts in Saudi Arabia’s major investment projects, which are part of the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In April, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister acknowledged that global events such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to a review of reform plans that include the project to build NEOM, a futuristic desert city.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has launched bonds four times this year, while state oil company Aramco issued more than 1 billion shares to finance key projects, according to specialists in the field.
Signing expensive and famous players is an investment that can be costly in the long run and does not ensure success, especially for Saudi Arabia’s national team. So far, the expected commercial returns, such as TV and merchandising deals, have not materialised, so priorities and targets need to be reviewed.
This year, not only have transfers been reduced in the Saudi league, but also in the major leagues and especially the Premier League, which has been forced to halve its investments to comply with Financial Fair Play. According to FIFA data, transfers in 2024 were reduced by 13% worldwide to 6.4 billion dollars.
