Saudi Pro League Spending Slows- Is the Football Project Drying Up?

Over the past few years, players all around the world, especially those in Europe, have been targeted by the Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PFI), in order to make the league more appealing to spectators. One way in which they have done this is by investing billions into a portion of the clubs in the Saudi Pro League, offering them a luxurious lifestyle in which to tempt them away of some of Europe’s elite clubs.

Other ways players are tempted are by either a large-scale sponsorship or commercial deal in order to help increase the player’s brand or, of course, by offering them a lucrative salary. Many players see this as retirement money to help fund their future generations of children, while others see it as a lovely holiday and an easy payday.

In more recent times, however, this lifestyle and money is not as appealing to some players. Perhaps it is through the fact that they do not want to leave European football so early, or it is because of all the strict laws and beliefs that everyone has to abide by in the country, or else facing serious consequences.

Saudi Pro League’s Rise to Fame

At the start of 2023, interest in the Saudi Pro League arose. The PFI acquired 75% stakes in the top four clubs in the country- Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli, Al-Ittihad, and Al-Nassr. This fund is the same group which owns Newcastle United, whose spending habits have also increased significantly in recent seasons. With clubs having spent far north of £1 billion during the 2023 transfer windows, it is no shock that Cristiano Ronaldo believes that the Saudi Pro League can become one of the world's leading leagues in the future.

🎬 || The leader, Cristiano Ronaldo:

" As I said last season, Saudi League will improve and will be one of the best leagues in the world.

I'm happy here, and I'd like to thank Saudi Arabia for having me, and make me feel so happy" pic.twitter.com/PzNU7Uyi4e

— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) August 25, 2023

They did not at all spend long to start making the Saudi League one of the most appealing places to go, with one of their first statement signings being that of an unsettled Ronaldo. The contract that took him away from a sour end at Manchester United was worth a reported £172 million over two seasons, which would be enough to retire the Ronaldo family for several generations. When the five-time Champions League winner joined Al-Nassr, he was gifted a £164,000 BMW as part of his multi-million-pound sponsorship deal.

(Source: SkySports)

This was one of many benefits which athletes saw when considering whether to join the league. The Portugal forward was the main headline during the season when the Saudi project really took off. As you can see from the photo above, there were many stars who joined him in Saudi Arabia soon after. Think of how many players in that list who have won Champions Leagues, league titles, all jumping ship in an instant to a country where, to be fair, they will be compensated financially, but in a football league with zero reputation.

Look at this screenshot below, Opta Analyst have named the league as the 29th best in the world, even below the likes of lesser European leagues like the Polish Ekstraklasa or the Norwegian Eliteserien.

(Source: OptaAnalyst)

How Has the Saudi Pro League Market Changed?

Branching off the aforementioned point about the Saudi Pro League having no previous reputation or even expectation of quality, there is, however, no doubt that the appeal in the league since the arrival of these big names has increased substantially.

(Source: TransferMarkt)

Take Al-Qadsiah in the table above, for example, they were not even in the Saudi Pro League until the start of the 2024/25 season. They invested smartly and brought in the right quality in the right areas- investing in the likes of La Liga winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, ex-Wolfsburg shot-stopper Koen Casteels, and six-time UEFA Champions League winner and ex-Galactico Nacho Fernandez.

🔐🇸🇦 Understand Nacho to Al Qadsiah will be official on Tuesday, it’s all signed for former Real Madrid defender. pic.twitter.com/0Sr6pjErX5

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 24, 2024

All of this spending has worked out really well in their first season in the division, allowing them to not only compete with the PFI-owned sides, evident by coming fourth in the league, but they were also runners-up in the 2025 King’s Cup, enabling them to increase their stocks exponentially by almost 4000%.

They are not the only club to have benefitted from the interest shown towards the country in recent years, as recent AFC Champions League winners Al-Ahli’s stocks have risen by more than 1100%, and Al-Hilal’s success in recent times has earned them a place in this year’s Club World Cup.

Is Interest in the Saudi Pro League Dropping?

Although this transfer window alone has only lasted 10 days, substantial interest has already been shown in more of Europe’s elite players by Saudi clubs looking to reinforce their squads for next season. Victor Osimhen and Bruno Fernandes are two of the names who have been tempted with a move to the Gulf State.

Both of their decisions to reject the move, however, have left people wondering if the Saudi project is drying up. Osimhen has spent the past season on loan from Napoli at Turkish outfit Galatasaray. He does not look likely to stay in Naples, however, has also decided his future will not be in Saudi Arabia, after rejecting an offer from Al-Hilal, where he would have earned a salary of 30 million Euros per year.

🚨🚫 BREAKING: Victor Osimhen has rejected Al Hilal proposal.

Despite agreement club to club with Napoli for €75m fee, Osimhen says no to the Saudi Pro League club. ❌

Galatasaray will insist to sign him with race now open again. 👀 pic.twitter.com/XmUTcmfNxk

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 8, 2025

Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes also turned down a move to Al-Hilal, which would have seen him earn £700,000 per week. The Guardian reported that the main reason he rejected the switch was to "stay at the highest level".

Despite being able to attract these high-profile names to play in its league, the Saudi Pro League still struggles in terms of spectators. Because of some of the players who have joined the division in recent years, this has also attracted several sponsors for the league as another revenue stream. One isssue they do continue to face is its viewership. They do have numerous companies who hold broadcast rights for games, however the amount of people tuning in to watch Al-Hilal vs Al-Ittihad in March for example, rose to a sad 5,000.

The PFI went from believing football would burst into life, to having to think of another way to reel people back into this project. It does not help that many of these high-profile players have already or are considering leaving the league within just a year or two of joining. Players such as Neymar Jr, who were offered a jaw-dropping £1.6 million weekly wage, left after just 18 months, and many others followed or even left before him like Jordan Henderson, Anderson Talisca and David Ospina.

There is, however, still hope that the Saudi project has not yet died, just slowed down slightly. The league continues to be heavily linked to even more superstars, and De Bruyne’s recent departure from the Etihad has landed talks of the Belgian heading to the Middle East to join Al-Nassr for next campaign.