Oman today_ Saudi Arabia significantly reduced its spending on signing foreign players during the summer 2024 transfer window, spending $438 million less than the previous year. In the summer of 2023, the country spent $875 million to attract star football players, making its league the second most expensive in the world after the English Premier League. The revenue from broadcasting rights and advertisements for the Saudi Pro League amounted to only $90 million, resulting in a $785 million loss. According to reports, this amount could have been used to build five stadiums with a capacity of 70,000 each. Following this substantial loss, the Saudi Public Investment Fund decided to cut the budget for signing foreign players in half. This decision dropped the Saudi league from the second to the sixth most expensive league in the world.
Saudi Arabia’s Reduction in Spending on Foreign Player Signings in the 2024 Transfer Window
