Saudi Pro League chief confirms next step of transfer plan as spending continues
Michael Emenalo has warned the Saudi Pro League is now hunting younger players and will not become a retirement home for Premier League stars.
It comes as top flight clubs prepare to fend off end-of-window raids for their top talents from the Middle East. While Jordan Henderson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have been marquee signings, the Saudis want influential twenty-something stars ahead of the new season.
And Emenalo, the SPL Director of Football for Player Acquisition, revealed bids for PSG’s Kylian Mbappe and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, both 24, are just a taste of the Saudi ambition: “The recruitments around the SPL will be geared towards making sure we attract the best players, regardless of age,” he said.
The ex-Chelsea Technical Director added: “Yes, Ronaldo is a world class player. A superstar who is still at the top of his game at 38 years old. But then the next player we signed was [reigning Ballon d’Or winner] Karim Benzema, who is three years younger. And then after that, you have the likes of Mahrez a year younger.
“Then you have Ruben Neves who is 26. So I think people were too quick to jump to the conclusion that this is going to be a retirement home. It was never intended to be that because the idea is to make sure that people who are coming in are going to be able to develop the local, national and the youth players. And retirement players will not be able to do that. Not in my book.”
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With more players open to discussions as their contracts run down, Emenalo went on: “These things are always about timing. t’s a combination of signing the right players at the right time. The timing has been good and we are at a time where players have started to take ownership of their own career. Where players have started to understand that they are a corporation to themselves and they don't have to be completely managed.
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Michael Emenalo has promised more Saudi spending (Getty Images)“So they are understanding what this is about. They are asking questions and we are there to answer those questions. Part of my role is to meet a player and explain to them what this thing is about. And of course, there's an economic incentive, no doubt about it. But that's the case with every player.
“In the early years of the Premier League, when foreign players started coming in we would hear something similar: ‘they've come for the money’. Nobody remembers that now.’ But players did come for the money, now they come for the excitement and the prestige of the Premier League.
"That's what we're looking to establish with the Saudi Pro League. So yes, there will be economic incentive for you, but you will also have a chance to enjoy and prolong your career with us.”
Karim Benzema has taken his Ballon d'Or to Saudi Arabia (Getty Images)It comes with streaming giant DAZN set to wrap up a TV rights deal for the SPL following its relentless transfer strategy. Asked whether he could see a Saudi club rivalling Bayern Munich’s attempts to sign Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Emenalo added: “Harry Kane belongs to a club, and I'm long in the tooth in football administration to know that you don't want to really give any unnecessary hints about players that are contracted to a club.
“But what I would say is that the Saudi Pro League is set up to welcome everyone, including the likes of the great Harry Kane. We're setting up the league and the infrastructure is around the league and for families of players that are coming in and staff to be able to accommodate the likes of those kinds of talents.
“So there's no there's no shying away from the fact that whoever is ready to come, no matter what their status is, we're ready for them.”
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