Benzema, Ronaldo Among European Soccer Stars in Saudi Pro League  – Sportico.com

The 2023 summer transfer season has been a busy one for the Saudi Pro League.

The league is set to transform itself now that more than a dozen high-profile European soccer stars have signed lucrative contracts to play in the kingdom, which started its season this weekend.

The signing spree came after Saudi Arabia’s $650 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced its Sports Clubs Investment and Privatization Project in June, which includes transforming four Saudi clubs—Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Nassr and Al Hilal—into new companies, each of which is 75% owned by PIF and 25% owned by different nonprofit foundations. PIF also owns an 80% stake in the English Premier League’s Newcastle.

Al Hilal reportedly submitted a record-breaking bid to Paris Saint-Germain for Kylian Mbappé: over $333 million for one year. The 24-year-old striker did not accept the offer, at least not yet, but several others have—most notably former Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema and Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. On Sunday morning, L’Equipe reported that PSG star Neymar had signed a two-year $175 million deal with Al Hilal, although the transaction remains unconfirmed by either team or the player.

Benzema and Ronaldo have had plenty of company in making the jump.

Here are the biggest transfers to Saudi Pro League so far: 

Not everyone is interested in the Saudi league. Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi passed on Al Hilal’s €500 million ($534 million) offer, and he joined MLS’ Inter Miami with his former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets, who also refused a Saudi league offer.

Real Madrid’s Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić spurned Al Hilal’s $220 million (€200 million) deal to play for three seasons and instead committed to his team for one more year. Chelsea player Romelu Lukaku, whose loan deal with Inter Milan expired this summer, is another player who refused to play for the Riyadh-based team.

Tottenham Hotspur’s South Korean star Son Heung-min said no to Al Ittihad’s offer. And more recently, Liverpool’s Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah refused a two-year contract worth $200 million (€180 million) from the Jeddah-based club.

(This story was updated to reflect reports of Neymar’s new contract.)