Kalidou Koulibaly, a former Chelsea defender, is one of Saudi Arabia's most famous recruits. Photo: REUTERS
Whatever Liverpool's concerns over the possible loss of two experienced midfielders four weeks before the start of the Premier League season, the bottom line remains the same: £60m for Jordan Henderson and Fabinho is too good to turn down from them.
The Saudi Pro League's hunger for aging Premier League greats has turned Liverpool's summer plans on its head, although surprises must always be factored into the transfer window. The destructive part of the football experiment in Saudi Arabia means we have little time to look for replacements. But fees? They are unusual.
This would mean that Liverpool would make a net profit from both and their transfer fees have long been amortized. The final two years remaining before the end of the controversial contract, which Henderson signed for around £200,000 a week, will be kept. Of course, in mid-July, the club may lose two players from the main team. But equally, it opens up opportunities — a chance to re-enter the market and challenge yourself to find new talent at lower wages.
The only offer on the table at the moment is Fabinho from Saudi side Al Ittihad and he is not currently participating in the club's pre-season tour of Germany. Al-Ettifak had yet to fulfill the agreed £700,000 a week deal that Henderson agreed to. If one or both get through, Liverpool will have to answer, but then that's what Jörg Schmadtke and the rest are paid for.
Sometimes events dictate. Real Madrid may not have planned to sell Casemiro last August, but one can only assume that when Manchester United offered £70m for the 30-year-old, they couldn't afford to back out of the deal given club uniform. finance. For Liverpool, the biggest regret is that last summer's main goal, Aurélien Chouameni, is no longer available.
As for the rest of the Saudi Pro League experiment: what a strange PR strategy. The Public Investment Fund, which now owns four of the league's biggest clubs, has already put together one of the most effective public relations efforts in the recent history of Newcastle United's takeover sports money. This overnight acquired a vocal cohort of allies — the fan base of the club. As Newcastle's fortunes duly reversed, a reputation for competence — at least in football — in many less skeptical circles has done wonders for Saudi Arabia's bloodstained international reputation.
Pro League seems less complicated. Her plan to bring big names to small clubs is following the beaten track, beaten in the United States in the 1970s and 1980s and then in China in the previous decade. Perhaps if Newcastle represents PIF's foreign policy, then the Pro League represents domestic appeasement. Regardless, it's still hard to believe that Saudi households are willing to queue in the thousands to watch Hugo Lloris, 36, organize his defenders on the corners.
Saudi Arabia does have a football culture, as evidenced by its records in World Cup qualifiers and their team's impressive run in Qatar. The league averaged just under 10,000 goals last season. This is important, but even then it's hard to ignore the elephant in the room. He is currently up to his neck in dollar bills.
Henderson, Fabinho, Jota, Karim Benzema, Steven Gerrard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruben Neves and others are not going to Saudi Arabia to fulfill a childhood dream. Rather, they share a longstanding view held by many in football circles: the only thing that matters in this life is that there are large sums in the bank.
This is their prerogative. Although football also operates on our collective belief that the old Victorian institutions of the British game, as well as these 100 year old clubs across Europe, mean something. Playing for teams like Liverpool, Manchester United or Arsenal — or even Real Madrid or Milan — means acknowledging a heritage and history that everyone understands. It doesn't mean that anyone has ever done it for free. Vice versa. But all these clubs give their players a sense of status through their history and support.
The Saudi phenomenon, like other similar attempts to quickly create a major league, does not recognize this. It's just like a completely financial exchange. As soon as the league reaches the required number, the player arrives. There is no great craving for emotion to sell. Most players are unlikely to understand the difference between one club and another, and the fact that four of them were bought by PIF last month suggests that the Saudis themselves consider them interchangeable.
Big Middle Eastern takeovers now moment were much more insightful. In Manchester, Paris and Newcastle, they all worked hard to create a sense of local identity. While no one doubts the global scope of the political moves being made with the participation of national clubs, the balm of nostalgia and belonging is a smart PR tool. These owner-states may have the players' tangible assets and the stadium on their balance sheet, but history is also part of that package. This, above all, greatly affects the emotions of the fans.
As for Saudi Arabia, no one doubts that it's all about money and power. Players who disappear overnight into sinecures who are well paid, even by the generous standards of the Premier League. Money will always talk, of course in football, as elsewhere. But the disadvantage of this plan is that only it is heard.
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