As has been the case over the last few years, the Saudi Pro League has proven to be an attractive move for a number of players looking to inflate their bank balance.
From established stars to young talents, this summer has seen plenty of players swap Europe for Saudi Arabia but some of them may have skipped under your radar.
Here are six players that have made the move this summer:
Kingsley Coman
Clearly Coman was sick of winning European league titles as he has left the continent to move to Al-Nassr.
In a career that saw him play for PSG, Juventus and Bayern, he managed to win 11 titles in a row, a run that only ended in 2024 (when Harry Kane was on his team).
Having earned another winner’s medal last season, Coman was sold to Al-Nassr on a three-year deal.
Theo Hernandez
Having played more than 200 games for Milan, the 27-year-old Hernandez looked like he had plenty of years left in Europe’s top light but instead he has swapped Serie A for Saudi.
In July, he agreed to move to Al-Hilal in a swap that puts doubts over his international career.
He was named in the most recent squad but his time away from Europe could mean Didier Deschamps looks elsewhere for the upcoming World Cup.
Mateo Retegui
After an incredibly impressive year at Atalanta which saw him score 25 goals in 36 games, Retegui could have been expected to move to a top European club.
But the Argentine-born Italian has left for Saudi Arabia.
The top scorer in Serie A last year has put pen to paper on a four-year deal with Al-Qadsiah, who paid £56million to make the move happen.
He is only 26 so could one day return to Europe, but it seems to be a decision motivated by money more than his career prospects.
Josh brownhill
Being the captain for a side that wins promotion to the Premier League is perhaps one of the strangest routes to Saudi yet.
But that is the fate of Brownhill, who opted to leave Burnley this summer despite the club’s return to the top flight.
The midfielder was linked with a number of clubs, including several in the Premier League, but no deal ever materialised and he has reportedly agreed to move to Al-Shabab.
In terms of the finances, he is not even on the crazy money we tend to see from the league and will earn a reported £100k a week.
Joao Felix
While this may have been entirely predictable this summer, if you had told us when Felix joined Atletico Madrid for €120million that he would be playing in Saudi Arabia six years later, we would have found it hard to believe.
What’s even more strange is Felix’s career since then. He has been part of a human pass the parcel between top European clubs including Chelsea, Barcelona and Milan, but failed to make an impression at any of them.
Chelsea, having had him on loan where he did little, opted to buy him £42million and still managed to get €26.2million back for him when he joined Al-Nassr this summer.
QUIZ: Can you name Chelsea’s 25 most expensive sales in history?
Enzo Millot
The €30million that Al-Ahli reportedly paid Stuttgart for Millot goes down as one of the most lucrative deals in the German club’s history, but only serves to show why it is a strange move for the 23-year-old.
As part of a recent Saudi trend to look for younger players, Millot fits that bill, but from the player’s point of view, he was good enough to stay in Europe and perhaps earn a move to a top team.
Ultimately, he has chosen the money and will earn €10million a year tax-free.
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