As the summer transfer window comes up over the horizon, it’s a safe enough bet that the Saudi Pro League will be major players in the marketplace.
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Five years ago, the emerging league wouldn’t have concerned any European clubs or their players, but the sheer amount of money that they have available to throw at the very best players that the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue Un, Serie A and the Bundesliga have to offer means that everyone will sit up and take notice.
Despite some big names having moved to the Middle East, most notably Cristiano Ronaldo, the league is still taking time to get a real foothold.
Stan Collymore doesn’t believe the Saudi Pro League will ever be relevant
With one eye on the 2030 World Cup, there’s a clear move from the Gulf state to get all eyes on the Pro League, but that will require more high profile players to drop what they’re doing in Europe and move to a much less competitive environment.
CaughtOffside columnist, Stan Collymore, just doesn’t see it happening.
“I’m 50 and I can’t ever see in my lifetime that the Saudi Pro League will be thought of as a top five global league and the reasons are really quite simple. England, Spain, Italy, France, Germany… 100 plus year-old leagues, legacy leagues that really mean something,” he said for his exclusive column.
“Secondly, all those leagues are very rich in their own right. Companies aren’t bailing on the Premier League or La Liga to go and sponsor the Saudi League, which will be propped up by Saudi money from Saudi companies.
“And thirdly, dare I say the culture that you’ve seen. Muslim players go out there because obviously it’s something they know, but you’ve also seen players that go out there, dip their toe in and are back in no time at all. Likewise, managers. Nuno Espirito Santo, Jordan Henderson…. So for me, I just think it’s going to continue being a gimmick.
“Boxing will be there for the next 20 years, but people aren’t going to go there and watch boxing in the same way that they would if they were at Madison Square Garden or some of the great venues.
“The Saudi’s will continue to build it up, but I just think it’s all about location and the cultural aspect. They will always get tournaments – like Qatar had the World Cup and Dubai gets the tennis – but people still want to go to Wimbledon, people still want to go to an Olympics in Paris, people still want to go to Wembley Stadium for that football experience or to watch Madrid in the Bernabeu.
“It’s like the MLS was and like the A League in Australia was for two or three years, and it’s a bit of a top up for the pension.
“No disrespect to Cristiano Ronaldo, whose 35 goals is a remarkable achievement even if he was doing that at his age in Sunday league football, but I can’t cannot see a time where European footballers head to Saudi Arabia to give the best years of their life.
“Kylian Mbappe was effectively offered billions to go and he didn’t choose it because he knew that he could get paid very handsomely in Europe and be relevant.
“When you go to Saudi you’re seen as two things; a mercenary and irrelevant.”
Strong words from the former Premier League ace, though it would be hard to disagree with any aspect of his argument.
Clearly, the money is an attraction, however, players can earn more than they’ll ever spend by staying in Europe and playing for some of the most historic and storied clubs on the planet.
No one is really going to talk about a player in future in worshipful tones if he spent the majority of his career in Saudi Arabia, with the greatest of respect.
Cristiano Ronaldo might continue to sing its praises, but that’s only because no clubs in Europe wanted him, and for the amount of money he’s being paid, he can’t really say much else can he.