RIYAL DEAL

The flurry of new signings is just the beginning for the Saudi league

- John Duerden

It was the last day of May when Al Ittihad lifted the Saudi Arabian league trophy in front of over 50,000 ecstatic fans in Jeddah, but much has changed in the weeks since and not just the expansion of the top tier from 16 to 18 teams. The January arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr, who finished second, garnered plenty of international headlines. In the build-up to the new season, which kicks off in August, the global spotlight has been shining brighter than ever with other big names following in the footsteps of the Portuguese superstar.

Just days after Nuno Espirito Santo led Ittihad to a first title since 2009, Karim Benzema put pen to paper and was heading to Jeddah. It was a significant move in that the second star from Europe was the most recent recipient of the Ballon d’Or and coming from Real Madrid. World Cup winner N’Golo Kante soon became his teammate, saying goodbye to Chelsea.

Kalidou Koulibaly also left the London club, this time for Al Hilal. Koulibaly, and later Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, followed Ruben Neves; this was no 30-something player who had won everything they wanted to win in Europe, but a 26-year-old Portugal international who had been linked to teams such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United deciding to head to Riyadh. It was also a significant signing because it was the first in two years by Saudi Arabia’s (and Asia’s) most successful club. Due to past contractual issues with midfielder Mohamed Kanno, Al Hilal were banned from buying new players and, even before this Saudi spending push started, were always going to have a clear-out in order to bring in some serious foreign talent.