The Saudi Pro League is all the rage this transfer window, as it seems to be the place to be for many high-profile players. European football's elite have been rocked by the Saudis, who have a war chest of $620 billion, courtesy the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Here, Joy Sports tracks taking the market by which players of note are switching and who are staying put in Europe.
(As of July 13, Al Nassr, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays, are banned from registering new players until they settle a debt with Leicester City, according to FIFA. However, Al Nassr can still sign new players -- although not register them to play until outstanding debts are paid by the club).
Done deals
June 6 -- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid to Al Ittihad)
The current Ballon d'Or holder got Saudi Arabia's summer business underway in style, completing a free transfer from 14-time European champions Real Madrid to the two-time Asian champions Al Ittihad. The 35-year-old France international signed a two-year contract worth €400million ($436m).
June 21 -- N'Golo Kante (Chelsea to Al Ittihad)
A protracted transfer saga finally came to an end with French midfielder Kante calling an end to his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge to join his international teammate Benzema at Al Ittihad on a free transfer. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner is set to earn €86m ($109.78m) per year throughout his four-year deal with the Jeddah-based club.
June 24 -- Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers to Al Hilal)
Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers received a club-record fee for the transfer of their captain, Neves, to Al Hilal on a three-year deal. The Portugal international midfielder joined Asia's most successful club side.
June 25 -- Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea to Al Hilal)
Saudi Arabia's raid on Stamford Bridge continued as the PIF target more players. Chelsea cut their losses on Senegal defender Koulibaly who joined Al Hilal on a three-year deal, having paid €40m to bring the 32-year-old from Napoli last summer.
June 28 -- Edouard Mendy (Chelsea to Al Ahli)
The Senegal goalkeeper has completed a transfer from West London to Jeddah on a three-year deal. The 31-year-old won the Champions League and the UEFA Men's Best Goalkeeper Award in 2021 with Chelsea, and he will now line up on the opposite side of the Jeddah derby to his former teammate Kante, joining Al Ahli.
July 3 -- Steven Gerrard (coach, to Al Ettifaq)
Gerrard is the new manager of Al Ettifaq after resuming talks with the club over a return to management, sources told ESPN's Mark Ogden, and has agreed to take over the Dammam-based outfit. The former Liverpool captain, who was fired by Aston Villa in November 2022 after less than 12 months at Villa Park, rejected an initial offer to move to Al Ettifaq last month. But after further discussions with the club hierarchy, the 43-year-old has come to an agreement.
July 3 -- Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan to Al Nassr)
The 30-year-old Croatia international has completed the move from Inter Milan to Al Nassr, where he will team up with Ronaldo. Brozovic had interest from Barcelona, but he opted for Riyadh instead, where he has reportedly signed a three-year deal with a salary of €25m (nearly $30m) per season.
July 3 -- Jota (Celtic to Al Ittihad)
The 24-year-old winger joins Benzema and Kante as the Jeddah club's third signing this summer after he agreed to a three-year contract with the Saudi champions. Jota signed on loan for Celtic from Benfica in September 2021 before making the transfer permanent in July 2022. Over his two years in Glasgow, the Portuguese contributed 28 goals and 26 assists.
July 4 -- Roberto Firmino (Liverpool to Al Ahli)
The forward, 31, agreed a three-year deal with the Saudi team and joins former Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy at the Jeddah-based club. Firmino made the move as a free agent after his contract at Liverpool expired at the end of last season.
July 12 -- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio to Al Hilal)
The 28-year-old Serbian had interest from Arsenal and Liverpool recently, but has completed his transfer to Al Hilal, where he will join Neves and Koulibaly. Milinkovic-Savic spent the last eight years in Serie A at Lazio, and will move to Riyadh on a €20m-per-year ($22m) salary until 2026.
July 18 -- Seko Fofana (Lens to Al Nassr)
The 28-year-old Ivory Coast international has completed a move to join Ronaldo and Brozovic at Al Nassr on a three-year deal. Lens also released a statement which confirmed that Fofana will leave the Ligue 1 club as a shareholder. Fofana helped Lens to a second-place finish last season, only one point behind league winners Paris Saint-Germain.
July 23 -- Alex Telles (Manchester United to Al Nassr (€4m, $4.4m)
The 30-year-old defender has signed for Al Nassr on a three-year deal. Telles was on loan at Sevilla last season, where he helped knock out Man United en route to lifting the Europa League title. The Brazilian will reunite with former United teammate Ronaldo.
July 26 -- Malcom (Zenit St Petersburg to Al Hilal)
The 26-year-old Brazilian has signed a four-year deal to join to Al Hilal, where he will play alongside Koulibaly, Neves and Milinkovic-Savic. Malcom moved to Zenit in 2019 from Barcelona, and lifted the Russian Premier League title last season as the top scorer (23) in the league.
July 27 -- Jordan Henderson (Liverpool to Al Ettifaq)
The Liverpool captain completed his three-year move to the Saudi outfit, where he will join former Reds teammate Gerrard. The 33-year-old England international joined Liverpool in 2011, and won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and League Cup with them.
July 27 -- Moussa Dembele (Lyon to Al Ettifaq)
The French striker joins Gerrard and Henderson at Al Ettifaq on a four-year deal after the expiry of his contract with Lyon, who he joined in 2018. The former Celtic forward made 28 appearances last season for Lyon and scored three goals.
July 27 -- Jack Hendry (Club Brugge to Al Ettifaq)
The 28-year-old Scotland international is one of the several signings confirmed in a short span of time by Al Ettifaq. After joining Brugges in 2021, Hendry made 32 appearances for them in the Belgian Pro League and spent time on loan at Cremonese in Serie A last season.
July 28 -- Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City to Al Ahli)
The two clubs have come to agreement for the transfer of the Algerian international on a three-year contract (with an option to extend). The 32-year-old helped City to the treble last season after spending five years at the club, over which time he won four Premier League titles.
July 30 -- Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United to Al Ahli)
The 26-year-old Frenchman has made his move to Al Ahli official after Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe confirmed that Saint-Maximin "is in discussions regarding a move to another club." Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), who own Newcastle, also have a 75% stake in four clubs in the country's league, including Al Ahli. Howe added that in order for the Magpies to make more transfers in the future, they needed to move the player out due to Financial Fair Play regulations.
July 31 -- Fabinho (Liverpool to Al Ittihad)
Brazil midfielder Fabinho has signed for current Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad on a three-year deal. Fabinho, 29, will join Benzema and Kante in Saudi after making 219 appearances for Liverpool since joining the Reds in 2018.
Aug. 1 -- Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich to Al Nassr)
After a year playing for the Bundesliga champions, Mane will team up with Ronaldo, Brozovic, Fofana and Telles at Al Nassr on a four-year deal. The 31-year-old Senegal international had an underwhelming season at Bayern, scoring 12 goals in 38 appearances and falling out of favor with the team for punching teammate Leroy Sane after a Champions League defeat to Manchester City in April.
Aug. 9 -- Franck Kessie (Barcelona to Al Ahli)
The Barcelona defender leaves the Camp Nou after one season at the club, where he made 43 appearances and won LaLiga. The 26-year-old Ivory Coast international joined Barca on a free transfer last summer from AC Milan, and scored the winning goal in El Clasico in March against Real Madrid.
Aug. 15 Neymar (PSG to Al Hilal)
The 31-year-old superstar and Brazil's joint all-time top scorer leaves the Parc des Princes on a transfer fee of €90 million ($98.6m). A return to Barcelona never fully materialized, and Neymar will now head to Riyadh. Neymar will have a two-year contract and is reportedly being paid an annual salary of around $100 million. That would be around half of the reported salary Cristiano Ronaldo is being paid by Al Nassr.
Talks ongoing
Hakim Ziyech (Chelsea to Al Nassr)
After a stellar World Cup campaign in which he led Morocco to the first semifinal for an African nation, Ziyech looks set for a return to the Middle East, this time to team up with Ronaldo, whom his side had eliminated in the quarterfinals in Qatar. The 30-year-old is set to join Al Nassr after a less than impressive three-year spell at Chelsea.
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City to Al Hilal)
Following the move of his international teammate Neves to Al Hilal, City ace Silva is the subject of a mega offer from the Saudi club. Silva, who shares the same agent with Neves (Jorge Mendes), is wanted by Paris Saint Germain and Barcelona but is yet to make a decision on his future.
Saul (Atletico Madrid to Al Nassr)
Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul is considering a move to Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr. However, Diego Simeone's side will demand a significant fee with the Spain international still under contract until 2026.
Paul Pogba (Juventus to Al Ahli)
After an injury-hit season and featuring only 10 times for Juve, the 30-year-old France international has reportedly been offered a three-year contract worth €100m ($111m) plus bonuses by the Jeddah-based club. However, there are questions as to whether the midfielder wants to leave the Serie A side as talks between the two parties continue.
Rejected deals
Kylian Mbappe (PSG to Al Hilal)
The Saudi side made a record €300 million ($332m) bid to sign the Frenchman, but sources have told ESPN that Mbappe is not interested. The 2018 World Cup winner is currently in a contract standoff with the Parisian club, and will look to leave at the end of the 2023-24 season as a free agent. PSG cut Mbappe from their preseason tour of Japan, with the club looking to find an offer for him unless he can be convinced to sign a new contract.
Lionel Messi (PSG to Al Hilal)
With Ronaldo already plying his trade at Al Nassr since January, Saudi Arabia's hopes of landing his archrival Messi and recreating their rivalry in the Riyadh derby received a blow when the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner turned down a record offer of €400m ($436m) per year from Al Hilal, opting instead to join MLS side Inter Miami.
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea to Al Hilal)
Following the end of his loan spell at Inter, Lukaku received an offer from Saudi Arabia but has rejected the approach, instead pushing for a permanent move to the Italian club where he played 25 times last season and scored 10 goals.
Jose Mourinho (AS Roma to Al Ahli)
Mourinho received an offer from Saudi side Al Ahli, and reportedly met with the club's president, but the Portuguese coach will remain with Roma for another season after leading them to the Europa League final.
Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur to Al Ittihad)
South Korea captain Son announced his intention to stay at Spurs after he was reported to be the subject of a €30m ($32.7m) per season bid from Saudi Arabian champions Al Ittihad. The 30-year-old said, "I have many things to do in the Premier League. Money doesn't matter to me now, and the pride of playing football, to play in my favourite league is important. I want to play more for Tottenham in the Premier League. I'll prepare well when I'm back to Spurs."
Luka Modric (Real Madrid to Al Hilal)
The 2018 Ballon d'Or winner rejected a three-year, £170m ($215m) deal to play in Saudi Arabia and signed a new one-year deal at Real Madrid. Modric is one of the world's greatest midfielders, and despite being tempted by the SPL, becomes another big player to turn down a move to the Gulf.
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City to Al Khaleej)
Al Khaleej, located in the city of Saihat, are one of the clubs who were after former Premier League Golden Boot-winner Vardy. According to The Guardian, the 36-year-old -- who has 12 months left on his Leicester contract -- is not interested in a move to the Middle East.
Pedro (Flamengo to Al Hilal)
Flamengo striker Pedro has turned down a lucrative offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, Globoesporte reports. Pedro, 26, played for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup after an impressive year with Flamengo where he scored 29 goals, including 12 in the Copa Libertadores. Al Hilal offered Pedro six time the amount he currently earns at Flamengo but the sporting project has not convinced the player. Al Hilal, who appointed former Flamengo coach Jorge Jesus earlier this week, are not giving up on signing Pedro.
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham to Al Hilal)
Fulham have rejected an initial bid from Al Hilal of €30m ($33m) to sign their top scorer. The 28-year-old Serbian international is reportedly open to the move if the clubs agree, but the West London side have no plans to part with their target man, who has made 205 appearances for the team and scored 14 Premier League goals last season.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace to Al Nassr)
The 30-year-old winger's contract at Palace was set to expire at the end of June, and although Al Nassr made a (£30m) $38m per year offer, Zaha rejected the move and signed for Turkish club Galatasaray.
Marco Silva (Fulham to Al Ahli)
Fulham boss confirmed he received an offer from Al Ahli, but did not make clear whether he would take the deal or not. The Saudi side offered £40 million ($51.4m) over two seasons, however, the 46-year-old reportedly turned down the offer with one year remaining on his contract at Craven Cottage.
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