Ever since the Saudi Pro League signed Cristiano Ronaldo as their figurehead, they’ve forced the rest of planet football to site up and take notice of what it is they’re trying to achieve.
With seemingly endless riches with which to tempt Europe and South America’s elite players, it’s becoming more and more difficult for players to turn down what’s on offer.
For those that are being approached, it’s more to do with a lifestyle choice than a financial one, given that if they were to accept, they would be set up securely for life.
It’s that type of change to the footballing landscape that could force English and other European clubs to ‘buddy up’ according to one of football’s first super agents, and co-creator of the Premier League, Jon Smith.
“Saudi has distorted the transfer market to a degree, but also don’t forget that the money at the top of the game is now so much bigger,” he said in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside.
“[…] The money that’s available in the USA is now starting to become available in Australia and has certainly been available for a while in various quarters around Asia.
“The Italian league has issues, Spain is still rich but the TV deal in France isn’t what they would’ve hoped. And then you’ve got England of course.
“Around the world, the market is relatively lucrative and if you’re sitting with a player in Chile for example, and you think he might be worth a million, you ask for five because you might get three.
“I think that together with what’s happening in the Gulf, that has driven prices up, which is why I think you’ll find more clubs, certainly in the likes of the Championship, that will be buddying up with clubs around the world so they can manoeuvre players around their rosters to save them having to go into quite expensive marketplaces.”
The one challenge for the Pro League is whether it will prove to be another flash in the pan like the Chinese Super League or, going even further back, the North American Soccer League (NASL).
If there is a genuine belief in growing the game in that part of the United Arab Emirates, then talk is cheap. Actions speak louder than words.
English clubs, for their part, will be watching along with interest.
