From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football

RIYADH – A billion-dollar binge which brought some of football’s biggest names to Saudi Arabia’s modest league has given way to a more cautious phase, with spending down dramatically in 2024.

After a jaw-dropping 2023, when Cristiano Ronaldo led a parade of largely ageing superstars to the oil-rich monarchy, Saudi transfer spending slumped from US$957 million (S$1.25 billion) to US$431 million in the latest window.

On any given weekend, Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, with six Ballons d’Or between them, can now be seen in the Saudi Pro League, with N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane and the injured Neymar among a host of other top players.

But their ranks have barely swelled this season, with Brentford’s occasional England international Ivan Toney the most notable addition when he signed for Al-Ahli.

The Saudi Pro League, the second-biggest spender in the summer of 2023, behind only the English Premier League, dropped to sixth in 2024, trailing the “Big Five” European competitions that it aims to rival.

According to analysts, Saudi officials are assessing the commercial returns of their record outlay as Saudi Arabia’s lavish drive to modernise its oil-reliant economy comes under budgetary strains.

“I think they achieved the purpose last year, they put themselves on the map, they put the league on the map,” said James Dorsey, an honorary fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. “Someone like Ronaldo and others attract audiences... it’s now a question of how do you sustain that?”

The Saudi football project has drawn comparisons with the Chinese Super League, which imported players on exorbitant salaries until team owners went bust as the Chinese economy fizzled.

But with Saudi Arabia the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup, and desperate to remodel itself as a tourism and business magnet before global oil demand falls for good, there is probably more to come from the Pro League.

“There are more considered and strategic ways to address the challenges of talent acquisition, which one senses the Saudis are now contemplating,” said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the Skema Business School in France.

“The expensive, lavish signings are not over forever, though it seems unlikely we will be seeing an occurrence like 2023 on a regular basis.”

The drop in football spending parallels belt-tightening across the world’s biggest oil exporter’s so-called “giga-projects” – giant infrastructure gambits ordered under the Vision 2030 economic diversification plan of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler.

In April, Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan admitted global shocks such as the Ukraine and Gaza wars and Covid-19 had prompted a review of the reform plans which include Neom, a futuristic city being built in the desert.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF), the acquisitive Saudi sovereign wealth vehicle, has issued bonds four times in 2024, and state-owned oil giant Aramco floated over a billion shares to fund major projects, according to experts.

“This year, Saudi Arabia has stepped back from many of its big spending commitments to appraise whether they represent value for money... even the PIF has been selling debt bonds on financial markets,” Chadwick added.

“Spending on expensive, big-name players is ultimately a financially burdensome pursuit in the long term, which doesn’t guarantee success.

“And... the anticipated commercial returns (including TV deals and merchandising) have thus far failed to materialise, necessitating a reappraisal of priorities and objectives.”

Transfers in other countries are also lower in 2024, with the Premier League’s spending nearly halved to comply with profit and sustainability rules.

Globally, transfer fees in men’s football fell by 13 per cent from a year earlier to US$6.4 billion this summer, according to the sport’s world governing body Fifa.

Mohamed Mandour, a journalist at website Sportsdata, said the lower spending reflects “realism and rationality” at the Saudi Pro League, whose four biggest teams are owned by the PIF.

“Any sports project spends a lot in the beginning phase,” he said, adding that the league is looking for “sponsors and resources for the clubs, some of which are from outside Saudi Arabia”.

An official in the Saudi Pro League, who wanted to remain anonymous, told AFP: “Who says we have to sign a big player every summer?

“Spending this year reflects the maturity of the league and the pursuit of filling the technical gaps in the teams.” AFP