If there was any doubt that the Saudi Pro League initiative was serious, the possibility of a significant Chelsea star moving there should have everyone sitting up and taking notice.
The riches that appear to be on offer for players should they chose to relocate to the Middle East are somewhat inexplicable, as they were for the Chinese Super League a few years ago.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the first to make the move, joining Al Nassr, and Karim Benzema recently joined Al Ittihad, and now, with the 2022/23 season finally over, it appears that owners of the league’s biggest clubs will try their hardest to hoover up some more of Europe’s best players.
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Al Hilal recently missed out on signing Lionel Messi to a €400 million+ per year contract (h/t Sport), and with that in mind, they’re clearly still seeking for a big name to compete with Ronaldo and Benzema.
According to Goal, they have not only made a €25 million per season offer to Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, who lost to Inter in the Champions League on Saturday, but the Belgian has already traveled to the region to discuss the same.
The lure of riches in Saudi Arabia could prove too strong for Lukaku to ignore, with Ronaldo paving the way for more high-profile stars to play in the Middle East after his record-breaking switch to Al-Nassr in December. Ronaldo’s former team-mate Karim Benzema has since left Real Madrid to join Al-Ittihad, with Chelsea’s N’Golo Kante also set to complete a move to the Saudi Pro League champions.
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