Top Footballers That Moved to Saudi Pro League for the 2023/24 Season
The lure of lucrative contracts continues to entice star names to the Saudi Pro League.
Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante joined defending champions Al Ittihad, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy signed for Al Ahli, and former Chelsea teammate Kalidou Koulibaly joined rivals Al Hilal. Since then, the transfers have continued.
Anderson Talisca was one of the first well-known names to join the Saudi Pro League. He moved to Al Nassr following a few years in China.
Cristiano Ronaldo then helped the league gain a lot more traction as he left Man United to also join Al Nassr after the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He helped them gain a lot more viewers and showed the Saudi Pro League hierarchy they can attract big names. He’s since been joined by Sadio Mane, signed from Bayern Munich by Al Nassr.
Ballon d’Or holder Benzema will earn £84m ($107m) per year for three years at Al Ittihad. World Cup winner Kante will reportedly make £67.6m ($86m) per year across his four-year contract.
Al Hilal’s £47.1m ($60m)move for Ruben Neves from Premier League side Wolves set a new transfer record for the league in June but that benchmark has now been raised again by former Barcelona winger Malcom.
The Brazil international has joined Al Hilal from Russia club Zenit Saint Petersburg for a £51.5m/$66.9m fee.
Riyad Mahrez’s move to Al Ahli was announced by Man City on July 28. The Algerian winger ended his hugely successful time in the Premier League for a fee of around £30m/$38.6m. He was quickly followed to the same club by another tricky winger, Allan Saint-Maximin from Newcastle.
| Player | New Club | Transfer fee | Date Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sadio Mane | Al Nassr | £24m ($30m) | August, 2023 |
| Allan Saint-Maximin | Al Ahli | £23m ($29.3m) | July, 2023 |
| Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli | £30m ($38.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Jordan Henderson | Al Ettifaq | £12m ($15.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Malcom | Al Hilal | £51.5m ($66.9m) | July, 2023 |
| Romain Saiss | Al Sadd | £2.2m ($2.8m) | July, 2023 |
| Alex Telles | Al Nassr | Free | July, 2023 |
| Seko Fofana | Al Nassr | £21.6m ($27.8m) | July, 2023 |
| Sergej Milinkovic-Savic | Al Hilal | £34.2m ($44.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Roberto Firmino | Al Ahli | Free | July, 2023 |
| Marcelo Brozovic | Al Nassr | £15.4m ($19.6m) | July, 2023 |
| Jota | Al Ittihad | £25m ($31.7m) | July, 2023 |
| Edouard Mendy | Al Ahli | £16m ($20.2m) | June, 2023 |
| Karim Benzema | Al Ittihad | Free | June, 2023 |
| N’Golo Kante | Al Ittihad | Free | June, 2023 |
| Ruben Neves | Al Hilal | £47.1m ($60m) | June, 2023 |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | Al Hilal | £15.7m ($20m) | June, 2023 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | Free | January, 2023 |
| Anderson Talisca | Al Nassr | £6.9m ($8.8m) | July, 2021 |
