The end of the transfer window in Saudi Arabia, recalling the biggest names who couldn’t resist high salaries

The transfer window in Saudi Arabia ended at midnight, the transfer window that saw one of the biggest changes in football history. Players are coming in for incredible salary sums. So let’s take a look back at the biggest names that have been tempted.

How much have Saudi clubs spent on reinforcements? The amount stopped at 955 million euros. Of course, this doesn’t only include purchases from Europe, as the biggest transfers were mostly handled by just four clubs. Compared to the Premier League, the amount is still small. In fact, English clubs spent 2.8 billion euros on players, which is several times the amount of the Saudi Arabian league.

Al-Ahli

Al Ahli is one of the few clubs to have invested in a goalkeeper. They have acquired Eduardo Mendy from Chelsea, in front of whom Merih Demiral and Roger Ibañez, seasoned players from the Italian Serie A, will form the midfield.

As far as strikers are concerned, Al-Ahli could compete with European clubs quite easily. Saint-Maximin and Ryiad Mahrez are chasing on the wings. At the very top of the trident, the coach can count on Robert Firmino, who scored a hat-trick in his very first league game.

Al-Ittihad

A lot has been written about the players heading to this club. The latest addition to the club is Brazilian stopper from Real Betis Luiz Felipe. Outside of the Brazilian, the club has focused mainly on reinforcements for the attack. In came the ever-reigning Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and a Portuguese talent from Celtic Jota, who had already complained about the game load.

World champion N’Golo Kanté, whom the club acquired as a free agent, and Brazilian midfielder Fabinho, who arrived from Liverpool of England, should prepare Benzema and co. for their chances. So, as we can notice, Al-Ittihad may have neglected the defence, which could be the price he pays.

Al-Nassr

The end of last season did not go well at all for the team with Cristiano Ronaldo, they lost the league title and failed to win any of the cups. They jumped into the new season as they ended the last one, with two losses in a row. This is despite the fact that they managed to win the Arab Club Championship.

With reinforcements such as Seko Fofana, Brozovic, Otávio, players who could play in very decent European clubs, the club has to work hard. They will be backed up by Laporte and Alex Telles. Above them, Sádio Mané is already playing with a new environment.

Al-Hilal

They have invested the most in transfers of the whole league, the only thing expected of them is to attack the title. In goal will be Bono, who just missed out at Real Madrid. The defence is under the baton of Koulibaly, whose stint at Chelsea didn’t work out and so he left after just one year.

The main names, however, are in midfield and in attack. Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Rubén Neves are the midfielders. The attacking trident must haunt the opponents at night, Malcom on one side, Aleksandar Mitrovic in the middle, who has already made his mark among the scorers in the first game, and Neymar on the left. However, the Brazilian will not feature until after the national break as he has to heal an injury.

Other interesting players who have succumbed to the lure of strong financial conditions are Toko Ekambi, Tatrusanu and Krychowiak operating in Abha. Al-Ettifag have brought Steven Gerrard onto their bench, which has had an impact on the reinforcements, bringing in Jordan Henderson, Demarai Gray, Wijnaldum and Moussa Dembélé. Yannick Carrasco and Jason Denayer didn’t turn down the offer either.

Source: Transfermarkt