The players who rejected transfers to the Saudi Pro League
Last summer’s transfer window was like no other. After years of football’s world-class talents only moving in and around Europe, suddenly a new player entered the game.
Of course, that was Saudi Arabia, who went on an oil-fuelled mission to accumulate the planet’s best players. By and large, it was a success for the nation, stocking the Saudi Pro League with iconic veterans from Europe’s elite leagues.
The money spent was eye-watering. The wages were jaw-dropping. It seemed inevitable that once Saudi Arabia had set their sights on a new target, it was only a matter of time before he would arrive.
However, while a vast sum of high-profile names made the lucrative switch, there were some who rejected their advances. No amount of money could force them to surrender their pride or sell their sporting integrity.
Here are just some of the stars who have rebuffed Saudi Arabian advances.
Chelsea were desperate to get rid of him and he was desperate to leave. Naturally, the Saudi Pro League took notice, offering Romelu Lukaku an escape route from his hellish return to Stamford Bridge.
Inter, the club he was on loan at last season, pulled out of a deal to sign the Belgian, reportedly due to a lack of funds, but there was also a sense that bridges had been burnt between Lukaku and the Milan side.
It seemed logical, therefore, that Lukaku would make the move to Saudi Arabia, taking one final big pay cheque given he had recently hit 30. However, he rejected a move to the Pro League, instead opting to continue to challenge himself within Europe.
Lukaku ended up at Roma after a summer of transfer talk and has already provided seven goals in nine appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side. The chance to play under the legendary coach in the Italian capital proved too tempting.
It’s a move that Liverpool probably wish had materialised given Thiago has missed the entirety of this season through injury, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
It wasn’t too difficult to predict the midfielder’s injury woes given his track record, but it seems Jurgen Klopp was keen to keep the Spaniard around regardless, despite having just under a year left on his Liverpool deal.
The Reds missed the chance to recoup some of the money they have spent on Thiago, both in transfer fee and significant wages, with the former Barcelona man turning down the chance to move to Saudi Arabia.
As a result, it seems likely that the 32-year-old will leave for free next summer. Whether he will have changed his mind about a move to the Pro League at that stage remains to be seen.
Luka Modric was one of the first players identified as a target by Saudi Arabia last summer, with the veteran midfielder facing an uncertain future at Real Madrid prior to the transfer window.
The 38-year-old was linked with a switch to Asia as his Madrid contract ran down, but the Croatian decided to sign a new one-year deal with the Spanish side to dramatically rebuff Saudi advances. Modric reportedly turned down one of the largest contract offers in football history from Al Hilal.
Despite having been delighted with his decision at the time, there are now question marks over Modric’s future. Having struggled to find a regular starting berth in the Madrid team as Carlo Ancelotti ushers in a younger midfield setup, there have been links with a January exit for the 2018 Ballon d’Or winner.
If Modric has his sights set on a winter departure, Saudi Arabia will undoubtedly revive their interest.
„Right now, money is not important to me,“ said Heung-min Son last summer. „The most important thing is to play in a league that I enjoy playing in.“
Providing one of the most vocal and public rejections of Saudi Arabian funds, the Tottenham star simply couldn’t say goodbye to the Premier League, choosing to begin a new chapter in north London under Ange Postecoglou.
At present, it seems a sensible decision given just how positively life has started under the Australian coach, with Son flourishing despite the loss of his strike partner Harry Kane.
Any hopes of a reunion between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were dashed this summer, with the Argentine deciding to travel in the opposite direction to his old nemesis after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi decided to continue the tradition of ageing superstars in Europe making the switch to the United States, joining David Beckham’s Major League Soccer franchise Inter Miami.
It could have been very different for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner though, with Saudi Arabia reportedly willing to offer him £321m-a-year to rival Ronaldo and team up with Al Hilal.
However, Messi won’t be too hard up in Florida, with the former Barcelona icon set to still bring home a staggering £38m-a-year in MLS.
Kylian Mbappe not only rejected a bid from Saudi Arabia last summer, he turned down the chance to break the record for the most expensive transfer of all time – a €222m record that currently belongs to former teammate Neymar.
Despite Paris Saint-Germain receiving a £259m offer for his services in the summer, Mbappe decided to stay put, running down his contract with the French side before a seemingly inevitable move to Real Madrid next summer.
Given the deal offered by Al Hilal was only for one season, it would have been easy for Mbappe to take the astronomical wages offered to him in Saudi Arabia before making the move to Madrid in 2024.
However, for whatever reason, the French forward decided to stay with the Ligue 1 champions, much to the annoyance of the PSG hierarchy.