The Saudis are about to bite the chunks out of the Premier League… but it’s not all bad

Sports

THE Saudi Pro League may seem like a retirement earner for leading footballers at the moment, but don’t be complacent about its motives.

Behind it lies another animal. One that could take a chunk out of the successful European competitions, with our Premier League being the first in line.

Ruben Neves has bucked the current trend by leaving for Al-Hilal when he was still at his peak and thinks the Saudi Pro League could be huge within two yearsCredit: Getty

Aging legends like Neymar can laugh all the way to the bankCredit: AFP

The Saudis have been ruthless in enticing top golfers to stay away from the PGA Tour.

Within three years, their LIV Golf series has filleted the all-powerful PGA of stars including Jon Rahm, Paul Casey and five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka.

The billions needed come from the Public Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund that recently bought 80 percent of Newcastle United.

Convincing the Saudi population to watch fading football stars seems about as popular in some cities as camel racing – there are fans, but not in large numbers. I predict progress will accelerate quickly.

It was once a specialty among men and a taboo among women. Now? The attendance stands at 133, more than you would expect from, say, the Northern Football League’s West Allotment Celtic here.

But on the plus side, the average audience is growing: more than 8,000 and the highest ever number of 59,600.

Oil barons are not known for their financial surrender and quitting the football project will not happen.

It will certainly last much longer than the Chinese bid to take over major clubs in Britain. Three of the four have quit.

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Only one, at Wolves, has lasted more than a few years. So the pension plan for Cristiano Ronaldo and like-minded beneficiaries will continue to attract fellow internationals of the stature of Neymar, Fabinho and Karim Benzema – who doesn’t like the money-no-object scene, and neither does Jordan Henderson.

It doesn’t matter, there are plenty of others lining up.

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As far as European standards are concerned, many of the twenty tempted people were on the verge of abandonment.

Not everything. Ex-Wolves captain Ruben Neves, 26, opted to move to Al-Hilal. A £47 million fee eased his former club’s Financial Fair Play figures, leaving time for the Portuguese to eventually return to Europe.

He’s not sure if he’ll move back. Where else could he earn £300,000 a week? He says: “I don’t plan on doing this anytime soon. Saudi Arabia could have one of the most important leagues in the world within two years.

“The quality of the players who come is very high. If each team goes for eight foreigners of that level, it almost becomes a PlayStation championship, where we can choose the players as we want.”

This is a powerful testament to the groundwork laid by the planners on course to host the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

They have already taken control of the Italian and Spanish Super Cups and host top sporting events – including athletics, tennis and horse racing, including the £16m Saudi Cup.

But a major football competition would be an impressive coup for Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the driving force behind Saudi Arabia’s rise to modernity.

Money is no object and in a country with 27 million inhabitants, football reaches places where no other sport can.

The wealth will continue to attract excellent players, both young and old, larger audiences and a growing challenge to the wealth and appeal of the Premier League and equivalent players elsewhere.

There is a temptation to view the Saudi version as the enemy. That’s not it.

But it is a rival with advantages: excellent pay for players, good conditions for spectators, involvement of more female spectators and also of female players.