Did Saudi Arabia, Home to Ronaldo, Stumble in This Year's Transfer Market Due to Financial Difficulties?

Saudi Arabia Cuts Player Transfer Fees by Half This Year
"Top Player Signings Impossible Every Year," They Explain
Financial Difficulties and Lack of Spectators... Increased Need to Maintain Signings

Saudi Arabia, which embraced the world-renowned football star Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal, is slowing down in the player transfer market this year. Previously, they attracted players from famous leagues such as the English Premier League (EPL) with massive financial power, but this year concerns about a lack of funds have emerged, and many players who came to Saudi Arabia have left, leading to the judgment that calming this situation is a top priority.

Global football star Cristiano Ronaldo from Portugal
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recently reported, citing data from football data company Transfermarkt, that Saudi Arabia invested about $530 million (approximately 708.6 billion KRW) to acquire new players in this summer's transfer market. Just a year ago, Saudi Arabia spent nearly $1 billion to sign players like Ronaldo, Neymar, and Karim Benzema.

According to the information released by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on the 3rd, the total transfer fees spent by clubs worldwide to acquire players from foreign leagues in this summer's transfer market amounted to $6.46 billion (approximately 8.58 trillion KRW), which is more than 1.2 trillion KRW less than last year's record high. In particular, Saudi Arabia's spending dropped by half from $875 million last year to $431 million this year.

WSJ evaluated, "The scale of funds in the Saudi league ranks sixth in the world this summer and remains at a high level," but also noted, "It is a signal that the flood of money Saudi Arabia spends on sports may not continue indefinitely." Initially, it was expected that Saudi professional league 'big-spender' clubs like Al Hilal, owned by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF), would continue to leverage their financial power to acquire players, but signals have emerged that this may change depending on circumstances.

Regarding this, the Saudi football league stated that since they already have many famous players, there is no urgent need to acquire new ones, describing this as a "sign of stability." They added, "It is impossible to sign the world's best players every year, and we are working to create an environment where more spectators can attend across the league."

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia (left in the photo), and Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA)
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

There have been consecutive cases of players who moved to Saudi Arabia attracted by its financial power but left because it did not suit them. In January this year, Jordan Henderson, former captain of EPL's Liverpool, left Al Ettifaq after half a year and joined Ajax in the Netherlands. The American sports media outlet The Athletic reported, "The situation now requires maintaining the players already secured rather than aggressively attracting more players from across Europe."

Another reason Saudi Arabia is less active in the transfer market than before is presumed to be financial. WSJ reported signs that Saudi Arabia is struggling with higher-than-expected expenses in implementing Vision 2030. Last year, Saudi government officials publicly mentioned the possibility of funding shortages and announced delays or cancellations of some plans. There are even reports that financial difficulties caused by cost estimation errors and investment challenges have made it inevitable to readjust the Neom City construction plan.

Concerns have also been raised that the football league is not attracting as many spectators as expected. According to Transfermarkt data, the average attendance per match was less than 8,200. Although the total league attendance increased by 13% compared to a year ago, reaching 2.5 million, and some matches drew over 50,000 fans to the stadium, matches without superstars struggle to attract even 1,000 spectators.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is promoting the revitalization of its football league as part of Vision 2030, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler. Known as a sports enthusiast, Crown Prince bin Salman decided to develop the football industry to attract tourism, and the hosting of the 2034 FIFA World Cup has been virtually confirmed. However, the prevailing opinion is that it will take some time before the league revitalization bears fruit.