FC Bayern: Uli Hoeneß is critical of the Saudi transfer offensive

High investments in old stars

According to Cristiano Ronaldo, the Saudi Pro League “could be in the top five leagues in the world in five years”. The 38-year-old was the first world star to switch to the SPL when he signed with Al-Nassr FC at the beginning of January and other big names are “all welcome”, as he emphasized. Karim Benzema (signed to Al-Ittihad) follows his call. It is only a matter of time when the next prominent entry will come after the Frenchman. Now FC Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß was critical.

“I’m very worried about what’s coming out of Saudi Arabia, they seem to have endless money. We pay for it through our oil price. But there is no point in lamenting, we must find other ways to counter this. It will certainly not be easy for the next ten years,” said the 71-year-old on the TV station.sky“. Ronaldo is still the most valuable player in the league with a market value of 20 million euros, but Benzema, who is valued at 35 million euros, will replace him in the next LaLiga update on June 13th despite a devaluation. In all likelihood, other players will increase the value of the SPL, as Premier League pros N’Golo Kanté (32) and Wilfried Zaha (30) are also in the spotlight and their contracts with Chelsea and Crystal Palace are up out of.

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Chelsea FC 99% Al Ittihad Club premier league Saudi Pro League

Kanté is preparing to sign Al-Ittihad, and according to the Guardian, he can expect an annual salary of up to 100 million euros. It’s just a matter of final formalities, they say. Zaha, on the other hand, could play in a team with Ronaldo in the future, he is said to have received an offer from Al-Nassr with an annual salary of 17.5 million euros. This was reported by Sky Sports. The TM rumor mill also includes names like Sergio Ramos (37), Ángel Di María (35) and Luka Modric (37) as candidates for a move to Saudi Arabia. They too would be available free of charge and could be lured by high-value contracts.

Hoeneß: “There will always be more than 50 to 60 good players in the world”

There had long been speculation that Lionel Messi, 35, would join Al-Hilal SFC, but the Argentinian opted to sign with Inter Miami FC. It is not unlikely that Messi will still appear in Saudi Arabia. There was talk of “Goal” and “Spox” that he had asked to postpone his move to 2024. The Saudis are said to have offered Messi an annual salary of 400 million euros, payments of up to 500 million euros per year were also traded. Both sums would be above Ronaldo’s rumored salary at Al-Nassr, which is said to be around 200 million euros per year.

There are figures that show that money is loose in Saudi Arabia. However, the focus for the moment seems to be more on old stars, so the threat to top European clubs like FC Bayern should not be too great. In the Gulf, however, it can be seen that the Saudis “also bought everything,” said Hoeneß, adding: “The advantage is that they can only play with eleven players and a squad can only have 15 to 16. So there will always be more than 50 to 60 good players in the world and we have to get to them.”

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