The AC Milan forward opened up on a chat he had with Cristiano Ronaldo during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia. The ever-growing list of worl...
The AC Milan forward opened up on a chat he had with Cristiano Ronaldo during a recent visit to Saudi Arabia.
The ever-growing list of world-renowned talents joining Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia this summer hasn’t surprised Rafael Leao one bit.
As Ronaldo said in Madrid last month, his January move to Al Nassr “opened the box”. The forward’s arrival marked the start of a new era in Saudi Arabian football. It has seen some of the world’s biggest players follow in his wake. These include Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema, World Cup winner N’Golo Kante, and most recently Marcelo Brozovic.
Now Leao has revealed Ronaldo always believed this would happen. The pair spoke about the Saudi Pro League’s future during Leao’s visit to Saudi Arabia in January. The Portuguese forward was in the country for AC Milan’s Supercoppa Italiana game against Inter Milan, which the Red and Blacks lost 3-0.
“Cristiano said to me ‘great players will come soon here’,” Leao said during a fan Q&A session on YouTube.
“He heard some news. So I was more or less aware that the Arab market would revolutionize because they have very great financial power. Cristiano also told me that the league will become very strong. With the signings that are being seen, I think it will become a very interesting league.”
This summer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia took over four of the country’s leading football clubs. These teams are Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli. Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, and Al-Hilal were the top three clubs in the top-flight league last season. Al-Ahli was the champion of the second-tier league.
The PIF’s takeover has increased the transfer funds available to these clubs. The Saudi Pro League doesn’t have Europe’s financial fair play rules either, so the teams can offer players huge salaries without consequences.
According to Transfermarkt, Saudi Pro League clubs have completed 81 signings so far this summer. They’ve spent a total of €143.6 million on transfer fees. The most expensive signing is Ruben Neves. The Portuguese midfielder joined Al-Hilal from the English team Wolves this month for a €55 million fee.
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