On the back of that summer, the latest transfer window was conspicuously quiet. Tribal Football teamed up with an expert on the Saudi league to get an explanation as to why, as well as trying to find out how the league is progressing.
“All clubs had already signed foreign players, so to sign a new one, you must sell one. That changed the perspective because, in the first summer, every club could sign all kinds of players.
"Now, things are a little bit different. The league introduced a new rule regarding U21 players as two must be under 21,” Nicola Guiliani explains.
The Italian-born, London-based Nicola Guiliani serves as a consultant to Italian players and managerial legend Roberto Mancini. After leading Italy to the European Championship in 2021, he is now coaching the national team in Saudi Arabia.
“Also, there are public clubs and PIF-backed clubs and the gap between a PIF-backed club and a private club is very big.
"If you are a private club, you must be creative to survive. You need creative ideas like how to scout for players, and if you’re creative, you can survive. If not, things will be very difficult,” Guiliani continues, before pointing to another and rather logical explanation as to why spending was down this summer.
“If you already have a big player in your team and you are not able to sell, why would you buy a new one? Most clubs simply thought: We're well established with what we've got. There's no need to spend big on new signings as the value of the new player must be bigger than your current player.”
Saudi League a coming force
Despite winning 26 of their 34 league matches, Al Nassr came in second after the powerhouse that is Al Hilal, who collected a ridiculous 96 of 102 possible points. Al Nassr looked to the Serie A when they went hunting for a new coach, bringing in Stefano Pioli who led AC Milan to the Scudetto, and Giuliani isn’t surprised the Saudi League is able to bring in managers of that calibre.
“I strongly believe that the Saudi professional league will become one of the best leagues in the world in a couple of years. Perhaps Pioli knows that as well? You need a mix of top players and top coaches and although the money is very attractive it is a complicated process for which you need maybe three or four years,” Guiliani concedes.
It caught some attention that a young talent like Gabri Veiga chose to join Al Ahli last summer. Could Italian talents like Daniel Maldini or Michael Kayode be tempted to join the Saudi league?
“I think they would consider the option, but basically, Italian players prefer to stay in Italy. We are proud of our league and we want to show our best skills in the Italian Serie A.
"For Italian players, it's not easy to go abroad. Maybe towards the end of their career, they may consider something different, but when they are young, they definitely prefer to stay in Italy,” Guiliani believes.
Saud the first of many
Serving as a consultant to Mancini, he’s had front-row seats to observe how the former Manchester City boss has worked with the Saudi international squad. Which is also a process that takes time.
“You cannot change things in just one season. You have your idea of football; you’re training new players with new ideas in a new culture. You need time.”
Time is something Saudi player Saud Abdulhamid might also need to succeed in Serie A. He joined AS Roma this summer but has yet to feature a single minute in the league.
“First of all, he came from a different league with a different culture of training, with a different culture of playing football. Let's see in six months’ time how he is progressing. He has only had two months to adapt and he's not a superhero,” Guiliani - whose GiulianiSports was involved in the move from Al Hilal - explains, believing Saud to be just the first of many Saudi players joining big European clubs.
“Of course they will. I think three, four, five players (from Mancini’s Saudi squad) could transfer as well, but you find the right club with the right conditions. That takes time as well.”
