English football is buzzing with activity as Saudi Arabia makes its presence felt in the soccer world, boosting its spending spree. While some experts have looked at the surge in spending on European teams by Asia and China, this feels different to them. They see that spending has been credible and genuine with no hints of inflated fees or any other issues. Concerns have grown among Europe’s heavy hitters regarding the potential impact of the Saudi spending spree. The response has been pure panic in the Premier League. Pundits are demanding investigations into selling clubs, while others are calling for new laws to restrain the free movement of soccer players around the world.
Gary Neville, former Manchester United captain, commented on the sale of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ captain Ruben Neves to Al Hilal. He suggested that it was a ridiculous sum to receive for a 26-year-old Premier League midfielder when he could have gone to Barcelona. However, this could be an understatement, considering the performance of Todd Boehly at Chelsea in the past year. The fact that real cast-offs like N’Golo Kante, Hakim Ziyech, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edou Mendy are going to play for these teams adds more weight to the seriousness of the situation.
As more and more world-class players continue to join the Saudi Arabian league, concerns continue to grow. UEFA’s Chairman Alexander Ceferin, for instance, believes that Saudi Arabia is making a mistake by investing so heavily in the sport. He said that they should instead promote and nurture playing skills and players through coaches and academies. But this simply isn’t China, and this feels different. There is an elaborate football culture in Saudi Arabia, and football clubs there that have been around for 70-80 years driven by sportspeople with ambitions to win medals, not set up malls.
Based on past events such as the signing of Karim Benzema by Al Ittihad, it becomes evident that this SPL spending spree will expand. City Football Group and PSG, for instance, are likely to divert talent to the UAE. Additionally, the leading clubs in South Korea and Japan are unlikely to sit back and let Saudi Arabia outdo them. The SPL looks poised to emerge as the Premier League of Asia, one that can pick up some of the big names in soccer from more prominent clubs.
As the momentum swings to Asia, Europe looks on, seemingly unprepared for what is happening. The bottom line is that the Premier League is under threat, and the SPL looks set to become a global soccer powerhouse, with the potential to go beyond picking off the likes of Bernardo Silva from Manchester City. The problem facing England’s soccer elite is that the SPL has a football culture and history stretching back almost a century, with considerable planning capabilities backing up their push in soccer.
