ANKARA
The Saudi top-tier football league, a hot destination for the sport’s stars, spent a relatively quiet summer transfer window in 2024 unlike 2023.
Big names like France’s duo of Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante, Brazil forward Neymar, Senegal winger Sadio Mane and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez signed in 2023 with Saudi Pro League teams as clubs spent a fortune to attract the stars to the Gulf country.
The stars have followed Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who left England’s Manchester United for Al-Nassr in the early days of the winter of 2023.
In 2023, Al-Hilal, a club from Riyadh, signed Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain for a record €90 million ($98 million), in a blockbuster move.
This summer, however, Saudi clubs did not pursue a wave of big-name signings.
French winger Moussa Diaby, English forward Ivan Toney and Portuguese right-back Joao Cancelo were significant moves to Saudi Arabia during the 2024 transfer window that closed earlier this week on Sept. 2.
Al-Ittihad land Diaby for €60 million, biggest Saudi signing of summer
Coached by France’s Laurent Blanc, Al-Ittihad acquired Diaby, 25, for €60 million, or $65 million, from English Premier League side Aston Villa on July 24.
Diaby joined Benzema, Kante and Brazil’s Fabinho at the Jeddah club.
According to the German football data website, Transfermarkt, Diaby was the biggest Saudi Pro League signing of the summer.
Diaby played for Aston Villa during the 2023-24 season, scoring 10 times to go along with nine assists in 54 appearances. The Paris native was an integral player for the Villans.
He had played for Paris Saint-Germain and won a French title, and Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Brentford forward Toney moves to Al-Ahli
English forward Toney was another player who moved to Saudi Arabia in the summer.
Based in Jeddah, Al-Ahli signed him for €42 million on Aug. 31.
Toney, 28, played for Brentford from 2020 -2024 and scored 72 goals in 141 appearances. Before his four-season spell at the Bees, Toney had loan spells with several English clubs.
Last season, Toney scored four goals in 17 Premier League matches for Brentford but he missed a number of matches because of a betting ban.
In May 2023, Toney was suspended from football for eight months for breaching FA betting rules. He returned in January.
He was named to England’s EURO 2024 squad. Spain beat England 2-1 to win the EURO 2024 title in July as Toney was featured in the Berlin final.
Toney is now playing alongside Al-Ahli stars — Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino, Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez and Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie.
Cancelo leaves European club football for Arabia
Cancelo, a Portugal regular, who previously played for European giants such as Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, has left England’s Manchester City for Al-Hilal in August.
Star-studded Al-Hilal paid €25 million to purchase the full-back.
It was 2019 when Man City signed Cancelo from Italy’s Juventus, and the 30-year-old played regularly for the English powerhouse until January 2023 when he was benched.
Cancelo made a shocking move to Germany’s Bayern Munich in 2023 on a half-season loan deal after lacking matches at Man City.
He spent the entire 2023-24 season at Barcelona as it was another temporary move. In June, Cancelo returned to Man City but did not play.
One of the solid full-backs, Cancelo won local titles at Benfica, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Manchester City. He also helped Man City win a Champions League title but did not play in the knockout stages.
Last season, Cancelo scored four goals in 42 appearances for Barcelona, and played for Portugal at the EURO 2024.
In the 2023 summer transfer window, Al-Hilal splashed money to sign star players to create a powerful team.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (signed from Lazio), Aleksandar Mitrovic (from Fulham), Kalidou Koulibaly (from Chelsea), Ruben Neves (from Wolverhampton Wanderers), Neymar (from Paris Saint-Germain) and Malcom (from Zenit) were Al-Hilal’s 2023 signings, and Cancelo will help the team achieve goals.
Zouma, Bergwijn take careers to Saudi league
French central defender Kurt Zouma, who won a Champions League title and English Premier League titles at Chelsea, has left England’s West Ham United to join Al-Orobah on loan in August.
The Al-Orobah football club is based in Sakakah, an oasis town in the north of Saudi Arabia.
Zouma, 29, helped West Ham win the third-tier UEFA Conference League title in 2023. Last season, he scored three goals in 39 appearances for the London team.
Separately, Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn, an Ajax member from 2022-2024, signed with Al-Ittihad for €21 million Sept. 2.
The 26-year-old Amsterdam native played for the Netherlands at the EURO 2024.
Last season, Bergwijn scored 13 goals in 31 matches for Ajax.
Before Ajax, he played for Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven.
Bergwijn was a three-time Dutch champion with PSV.
