In a recent blog, we spoke about the impact the Saudi Pro League could have on European football.
Since I wrote the blog, it has become clear how European clubs are using the Saudi Pro League – they are dumping unwanted players on huge wages on the Middle East nation.
Chelsea have recently attracted controversy due the relationship between the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia and their owners, Clearlake Capital.
PIF recently bought 4 Saudi Pro League clubs and are financing the recruitment drive. Questions were asked as to whether this was just a way to circumnavigate FFP with them targeting Chelsea players to help them get high earners off the books.
The truth is, every club in Europe is currently looking to dump older players they no longer want on Saudi Arabia, and Chelsea simply have a lot of players they do not currently want that fit the profile.
The problem a lot of clubs face when looking to move on a 30-something is finding a club to take on their wages. Arsenal faced this when trying to sell Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
These sort players would have (likely) have signed a 5-year deal at their peak at around 28-years-old. They would be on huge wages. Come 30/31, they are beginning to decline and clubs begin to look for younger alternatives.
The problem is when a player in on £150k+ a week, and on the decline, there will be very few sides that would look to sign them.
The players, usually with 2-years still to go on their contract – would not be happy taking a pay cut to reflect their declining ability, and this leads to a stalemate.
Selling clubs either have to subsidise the salaries of players no longer on their books, or have to accept a pittance in transfer fees so that the buying club can then afford to match the wages.
So you might end up in a scenario where the buying team agrees to buy Player A, offering them £80k a week. The selling club will then subsidise the wages for the next two years, topping the player back up to their £150k contract. Basically spending over £7m across 2-years on wages for a player no longer at the club.
Alternatively, they will have to reduce their asking price by a similar amount so that the buying club can then pay their new acquisition a nice bonus that covers their wage drop.
So instead if receiving £30m, the selling club might have to accept a reduced £23m so that the players wage drop can be covered by the buying club.
The Saudi league has provided a solution to selling clubs problems.
They are matching (and in many cases increasing) players wages, whilst still offering clubs a decent transfer fee.
Take Thomas Partey.
Partey is on around £200k a week. Now 30-years-old and with his injury issues, no club will match that salary unless they “get him on the cheap”.
Juventus were (and still are?) sniffing around Partey, with a deal in the range of £17m mentioned. This low transfer fee would allow Juventus to match Partey’s wages.
And then you have Saudi Arabia.
The offer reportedly on the table from the Middle-East is £35m – almost twice as much. And Partey will still have his huge wages matched.
It therefore makes a lot of sense that Arsenal are encouraging bids from Saudi Arabia and will probably try and push Partey in that direction.
And that is what all clubs are currently doing – on the phone to superagents who are working on behalf of PIF to encourage bids for their unwanted players. I would not be surprised if Nicolas Pepe has been spoken about.
Chelsea are looking to move on Edouard Mendy, Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech. All are 30+ and on huge wages. Expected transfer fees for all ranges from £20-30m.
Inter Milan are to cash in by selling Marcelo Brozović. Another 30-year-old that will also go for a fee within that £20-30m.
Some players will still have ambitions to play top level football – Bernardo Silva, the aforementioned Lukaku and others. But if they do this, and seek a move elsewhere, they might have to accept the lower wages.
Selling clubs will now be saying to them “why would we accept a bid from a European club when a Saudi team is offering twice the fee”. That then puts the ball at the feet of the players as to where they want to go.
Stay in Europe, they will have to accept less wages which will enable the buying club to pay bigger transfer fees. Move to Saudi Arabia, the higher transfer fee will be paid and they get to keep their wages.
Whilst Saudi Arabia officials have been contacting clubs about players, I am sure the majority of the chatter is being instigated by European clubs. Official at Arsenal, Chelsea, Inter Milan and more contacting those working for PIF in an attempt to cash in on their unwanted, highly paid, ageing stars.
I imagine if the Saudi Pro League was relevant in 2020, Arsenal would have looked to sell them Aubameyang, Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi, Saed Kolasinac and more.
And this just highlights the hypocrisy in football.
Teams will try and block PIF from investing in Newcastle, with Human Rights claims, but will then court the oil money for their own benefit. But that is a blog for another day!
Enjoy your Tuesday.
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
This is a very unsustainable modal of business by the Arabs. Just like the Chinese, who they themselves prosper because of Western technology theft, the Arabs got rich because the Europeans found oil in their land. And now, just like a spoil child, waste money on commodities that degrade in value. They can buy all English football clubs but will come to the end if football fans decides to support other or new clubs. It seems more like the UK is running a get rich scheme. And without the risk.
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