There is a little bit of money flowing through the Saudi Arabia Pro League currently, with considerable plans afoot to entice any and all big names soon.
Premier League
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea)
Almost certain to leave Chelsea this summer, but a desperation to continue playing in Europe scuppered the hopes of MLS franchise Los Angeles FC in February so Al-Ahli and Al-Shabab, the two Saudi clubs linked with Aubameyang, might be similarly frustrated.
N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)
The Chelsea midfielder is widely reported to have rejected any Chelsea offer and agreed a two-year contract worth €100m per season with Al-Ittihad.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea)
Kindly offered his pick of the four PIF-controlled clubs, with the sovereign wealth fund pushing Koulibaly towards Al-Ittihad but accepting if he prefers Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal or Al-Nassr for whatever possible reason.
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea)
Kicking a man while he’s down, Al-Hilal have offered Champions League runner-up Lukaku £16m a year to join. But the London Evening Standard report a reluctance on the 30-year-old’s part to take the leap.
Thiago Silva (Chelsea)
The centre-half has publicly stated his intention to see out the remainder of a Chelsea contract which expires in summer 2024, despite Football.London suggesting ‘multiple unnamed clubs’ have made overtures.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
The Crystal Palace forward has a decision to make and Al-Nassr hope to simplify it by offering a £45m contract over three years, in return for never again taking a set-piece while a teammate of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Abdoulaye Doucoure (Everton)
One of ‘up to 50 players from Europe’s big five leagues and Portugal’s top flight’ to be targeted, according to ESPN, although Everton triggering a clause in his contract to keep him for another year might end those hopes.
Yerry Mina (Everton)
Another named in that ESPN report, Everton did at least confirm that Mina had been released at the end of this past season after his contribution to their latest great escape.
Roberto Firmino (Liverpool)
Offers to move to Saudi Arabia were reported as far back as January but there is no clarity yet to where Firmino will end up while Liverpool continue to mourn his departure.
Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City)
While Manchester City fend off the interest of Arsenal and Barcelona in a player who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, the London Evening Standard report that Gundogan ‘is the latest player to attract interest’ from the Gulf state.
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City)
Another player with a nine-figure salary waved in his face, ESPN believe Mahrez is ‘thought to be open’ to the ambitious plans of Al-Ahli, having won it all at Manchester City.
David de Gea (Man Utd)
One Man Utd coach suggested “it would be a crime” if they lost De Gea but the Spaniard has turned down offers to fight for his Old Trafford place and legacy.
Hugo Lloris (Spurs)
Having made his desire for new pastures known, Lloris might relish the challenge of tripling his current Spurs salary, as is the Saudi offer on the table reported by The Times.
Heung-min Son (Spurs)
To prove this is no flash in the pan, Son was revealed by Ben Jacobs to be ‘a Saudi target for 2024’ with ‘legwork already underway’ on a deal with clubs as yet unknown.
Joao Moutinho (Wolves)
As part of his title defence in charge of Al-Ittihad, Nuno Espirito Santo would quite like a central midfield of Moutinho and Kane behind Karim Benzema.
Adama Traore (Wolves)
Wolves want to keep Traore but ongoing negotiations might be blown out of the water by Al-Ittihad and the promise of all the baby oil in the world, if Foot Mercato are to be believed.
La Liga
Jordi Alba (Barcelona)
One of the final remnants of the Barcelona old guard to be confirmed as leaving, Alba was actually a part of Al-Hilal’s failed attempt to attract Lionel Messi.
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona)
Given the same options as Messi, it is difficult to see Busquets reaching a different conclusion.
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Appeared on a few radars incapable of independent or original thought but is not quite done bullying European defences just yet.
Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo)
Absolutely all of the possible time in the world for, as Spanish journalist Aaron Dominguez put it, delegations being sent from Saudi Arabia to procure corner specialist Aspas.
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
Followed old teammate Cristiano Ronaldo east to “help take the game in Saudi Arabia to new levels” on a contract worth £6 a second over the next three years.
We Love you Benzema 💛📷 #Benzema2Ittihad #here2inspireKSA pic.twitter.com/HJWpzR2cZ4
— Ittihad Club (@ittihad_en) June 8, 2023
Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)
Long before it become apparent neither Hazard nor Real Madrid intended to extend their unhappy union, interest from the Pro League was quite inevitably reported in a free agent who probably has a straight choice between retirement and, well, incredibly lucrative semi-retirement.
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Targeted in the Saudi mission to have every active Ballon d’Or winner in the country’s employ but, like old rival Lionel Messi, has resisted. Modric seems to have replaced Messi as Al-Hilal’s primary target, with a £60m-a-season deal over two years tempting enough.
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla)
One of the stars of the World Cup in Qatar, the Sevilla keeper was said by Spanish newspaper AS to have caught Saudi eyes.
Bundesliga
Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
Things have not gone to plan in Bavaria but Mane would surely prefer to stick it out or at least remain in the Champions League rather than joining mid-table Al-Ettifaq just yet.
Serie A
Angel di Maria (Juventus)
One of 10 former world and/or European champions on a shortlist the Saudis drew up to lure, alongside such names as Messi, Benzema, Ramos, Modric, Lloris, Kante, Firmino, Alba and Busquets. Di Maria could make the leap at 35 after his Juventus release.
Paul Pogba (Juventus)
The Saudi pundit equivalent to Graeme Souness would be delighted with this one, brought to light by 90min.
Ligue Un
Alexis Sanchez (Marseille)
“Saudi Arabia offers a lot of players the chance to earn a lot of money, but here, Alexis has found an atmosphere where he feels loved and respected,” Marseille president Pablo Longoria recently said. If anything, the reported £9m-a-year offer actually seems a bit low in comparison to the numbers bandied around for others.
Mauro Icardi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Fabrizio Romano reckons Al-Taawoun are interested in taking one of PSG’s many financial liabilities off their hands.
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
Wisely steered clear of reenergising the tiresome Messi v Felipe Caicedo debate by saying yes to Becks.
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
The change in Kylian Mbappe’s situation could alter PSG’s stance but the suggestion is that they would welcome the reported interest from Al-Hilal in Neymar, who stands to earn Ronaldo money – €200m or so a year – instead of his current pittance.
Sergio Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain)
With a forgetful two years in Paris coming to an end, Ramos could head back to Sevilla or take Al-Ahli up on their $20m-a-year offer, as claimed by Mundo Deportivo.
Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain)
It was back in May when French journalist Abdellah Boulma suggested €60m a year was being nudged towards Verratti by Al-Hilal, who are desperate to secure their own statement signing.
Liga NOS
Pepe (Porto)
Back in January, Marca revealed that Ronaldo ‘would like to surround himself with some of his friends’, with long-time colleague Pepe chief among his preferred comforters.
Scottish Premiership
James Tavernier (Rangers)
They really are targeting all the biggest players. Transfer expert Dean Jones reckons “we could be looking at 40 players from across Europe suddenly being part of their league,” including the Rangers captain.
The managers
Jose Mourinho
It does feel like the next logical step in quite the career path for Mourinho, who was offered £100m to manage the Saudi Arabia national team for two seasons before ‘lucrative’ deals were put in front of him to psychologically destroy one of the leading clubs; both were rejected.
Steven Gerrard
Those stepping stones towards Liverpool are getting more treacherous. Gerrard is so bored of being offered Championship jobs he is getting as far away from them as possible with Al-Ettifaq.
Massimiliano Allegri
Juventus are nice and all, but so is £24m a year – quadruple his current wages – to manage the folks over at Al-Hilal.