SOCCER
Al Hilal will sign Cancelo: How many players have gone to Saudi Arabia during this transfer market?
The Portuguese full-back was not in Pep Guardiola’s plans at Manchester City.
We were wrong to think that the Saudi Pro League teams would not sign more players during this transfer market, as João Cancelo will join Al Hilal on a permanent deal.
Manchester City and Al Hilal agreed on a transfer fee of $27.9 million. Cancelo will earn $16.7 million, sign a three-year contract, and is on his way to Saudi Arabia to complete the second part of the medical test. After being loaned to Barcelona last season, João Cancelo returned to Manchester City with the clear idea that he would not be part of coach Pep Guardiola’s plans, so his departure was imminent.
The 30-year-old full-back is only one of the big names to have arrived in the Saudi Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Al-Nassr back in 2022 was the trigger for a series of transfers, where players were even offered some of the best contracts. After the Portuguese striker arrived, players like Sadio Mane, Karim Benzema, Neymar, and Riyad Mahrez, who had achieved European glory, joined Arab teams with nothing more to prove.
However, there are also cases like Gabri Veiga’s, one of Spain’s most promising talents, who had plenty of LaLiga and Premier League offers during the 2023/24 transfer window. The 21-year-old midfielder shocked the world after joining Al-Ahli in a $33 million transfer, finishing his chances of reaching Spain’s national team (at least for now).
Which players have the Saudi Pro League signed this summer?
Although the transfer of João Cancelo to Al-Hilal demonstrates the Arab League’s economic power, the Saudi Pro League teams have not moved as much in the European market as in past seasons.
We would probably say the opposite if Paulo Dybala had signed for Al Qadsiah. The proposal was tempting: a $83.3 million salary. However, the Argentine player has been one of the few to say “no” to Arab football, justifying that he wants to continue playing with his national team.
The most important signing in the Saudi Pro League this summer was French winger Moussa Diaby from Aston Vila to Al-Ittihad in exchange for $67.1 million. The Frenchman was also accompanied by Algerian Houssem Aouar, from Roma, in a signing that cost the Arab team $11.1 million.
From South American soccer, Al-Qadsiah hired Argentina’s youngster Ezequiel Fernández from Boca Juniors; Al-Ahli was not far behind and signed one of the biggest prospects in Brazilian soccer, Alexsander.
Other Names that may sound familiar are Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (from Olympique Marseille to Al-Qadsiah), Nacho Fernández (from Real Madrid to Al-Qadsiah), Marek Rodák (from Fulham to Al-Ettifaq), Predrag Rajković (from Mallorca to Al-Ittihad) and Julián Quiñones (from América to Al-Qadsiah).