In the summer of ’23 a bunch of top players from the Premier League decided to pack their bags and head to the Saudi Pro League, some of them are aging but one or two are close to their peak years. It was like a footballing earthquake, shaking up both leagues in ways nobody quite expected. Lets take a look at the 10 players who left for Saudi Pro League.
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Allan Saint-Maximin
Allan Saint-Maximin who’s 26 years old used to play for Newcastle in the Premier League. You would think at 26 he would be close to his peak and want to play in Champion League but no he wants to play in Saudi League with two other big names Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino for Al Ahli. They’re all playing together for Al Ahli now. Saint-Maximin, during his time at Newcastle, scored 13 goals and made 21 assists in 124 games.
Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez, aged 32, formerly a player for Manchester City in the Premier League, has transitioned to Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia. Al Ahli signed Mahrez for £30m, this isnt a bad deal for both Manchester City or Al Ahli or even Riyad. Having played for Manchester City 236 times and scoring 78 goals, winning pretty much everything from FA cup, League cup, Premier League and Champions League.
Jordan Henderson
Jordan Henderson, at the age of 33 Henderson will now reunite with his former Liverpool captain and teammate, Steven Gerrard, who currently manages Al Ettifaq. The transfer fee of £12m and closing a chapter in Henderson’s career 492 games 33 goals winning FA Cup, Super Cup, Premier League and Champions League.
Fabinho
Fabinho signed a three-year deal with Al Ittihad. What’s interesting is that Al Ittihad is one of the four top-tier Saudi clubs owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund. Fabinho’s move to Saudi Arabia follows Jordan Henderson’s transfer to Al Ettifaq earlier in the summer, making him the second senior midfielder from Liverpool to make this transition. While at Liverpool Fabinho played 219 games and scored 11 goals. Fabinho pretty much won everything at club level from Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup, FA Community Shield, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. At the age of 29, Al Ittihad has paid £40m.
N’Golo Kanté
N’Golo chosen to leave Chelsea at the end of his contract. During his time at Chelsea Kanté played 269 games and scored 13 goals. N’Golo help Chelsea to win Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. Kanté was regarded as one of the best players in his positions in the Premier League. At the age of 32, Kanté embarked on a new football journey after leaving Chelsea, making a noteworthy move on a free transfer. Now in the same team as fellow French team mate Benzema.
Édouard Mendy
Edouard Mendy found himself displaced as Chelsea’s first-choice goalkeeper after joining the club in 2020. Mendy accumulated 105 appearances and contributed to winning the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. At the age of 31 Mendy left Chelsea for £16m.
Ruben Neves
Ruben Neves was 20 when he arrived at Wolves, he played a pivotal role in Wolves winning EFL Championship and gaining promotion to the Premier League. He spent 6 amazing seasons at Molineux establishing himself as one of the most highly-regarded midfielders in the world. Al-Hilal is paying Wolves £47m, Neves is good enough to be playing top level football in Premier League or Champion League competition dont know why he is playing in Saudi. Neves has played 253 games and scored 30 goals. At the age of 26, he made a notable switch, moving from Wolves for a fee of £47 million.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
The Serbian football star grabbed the spotlight when he smashed records by scoring an incredible 43 goals in the Championship during the 2021/22 season. He played 206 games and scored a remarkable 111 goals. Mitrovic won the EFL Championship Golden Boot and the title of EFL Championship Player of the Season, won promotion back to the Premier League. At the age of 28 he moved to Al Hilal for £45m.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Kalidou Koulibaly spending just one season with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Koulibaly only season at Chelsea with 32 appearances for the club and scored 2 goals in Premier League. He decided to leave Chelsea for fee of £20 million, he wasnt as good as when he was at Napoli, his lack of pace and his shapeness in his game wasnt there.
Catch you in the next one.