When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window end? Middle Eastern spendthrift giants have more time to recruit players
Looking back to this summer, we can safely say that the Saudi Pro League is here to stay.
The country’s Public Investment Fund now owns four of the clubs in the division [Al-Ahli, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr] and as a result, the expenses have taken on another magnitude.
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The transfer window in the Premier League and most European countries is now closed, but Saudi Pro League clubs are still able to secure deals, leaving the top 20 teams exposed.
It remains to be seen if UEFA will change anything to ward off the threat from Saudi Arabia, but for now, all is the same.
When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window end?
There was some confusion over how long the Saudi Pro League had to recruit players.
The FIFA transfer deadline is Wednesday, September 20.
But that date has been confirmed false by the league and can be found on its website.
Instead, the window will close on Thursday, September 7.
In most European countries, the transfer window is already closed.
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Notable Saudi Pro League 2023/24 transfers
Sadio Mane [Bayern Munich] Al Nassr
Aymeric Laporte [Manchester City] Al Nassr
Ruben Neves [Wolverhampton Wanderers] Al Hilal
Kalidou Kouilbaly [Chelsea] Al Hilal
Neymar [Paris Saint-Germain] Al Hilal
Alexander Mitrovic [Fulham] Al Hilal
Roberto Firmino [Liverpool] Al Ahli
Allan Saint-Maximin [Newcastle] Al Ahli
Riyadh Mahrez [Manchester City Al-Ahli
Karim Benzema [Real Madrid] Al-Ittihad
N’Golo Kante [Chelsea] Al-Ittihad
Fabinho [Liverpool] Al-Ittihad
Jordan Henderson [Liverpool] Al Ettifaq
This is a problem for top teams as they could see potential January targets or future signings heading to the Middle East.
But Saudi teams can also sign Premier League players and clubs won’t be able to replace them until January 2024 at the earliest.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been the most vocal about it, not least because Mohamed Salah is heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
If Salah were to leave Anfield now, the Reds would find themselves in a sticky situation.
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Speaking about the Saudi Pro League, Klopp said: “The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment.
“The worst thing I think is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open for three more weeks. If I’m right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe it doesn’t help.
“UEFA or FIFA have to find solutions to this. But in the end, at the moment, I don’t know exactly what will happen. It already has an influence for us, but we will have to learn to deal with it…
“Time will show us.”
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