There's not much longer for Saudi Pro League clubs to complete their January transfer business
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Last summer's transfer window will be remembered for the emergence of a new power in world football: Saudi Arabia.
After Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al-Nassr in January 2023, a string of top players followed the five-time Ballon d'Or-winning superstar to the Saudi Pro League during the summer.
The Saudis spent in excess of £700m over the course of that window, with Neymar, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez and Sadio Mane just a few more of the big names to leave Europe's top leagues for the riches of the Gulf kingdom.
This month has been considerably quieter on the transfer front for the Saudi Pro League, but we have still seen some noteworthy moves.
Croatia legend Ivan Rakitic has left Sevilla to join Al-Shabab, while Brazil left-back Renan Lodi has moved from Marseille to Al Hilal in a deal worth almost £20m.
Meanwhile, Jordan Henderson's spell at Al-Ettifaq came to an end after just six months, with the England midfielder returning to Europe to sign for Ajax.
Riyad Mahrez joined Al Ahli from Manchester City last summer (Image credit: Getty Images)
When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window close?
While Saudi Pro League clubs had slightly longer to sign players than most of their European counterparts back in the summer, the Pro League's January transfer deadline actually comes earlier.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
While the deadline for the Premier League and most other European leagues is this Thursday 1 February at 11pm, the Saudi Pro League transfer window slams shut on Tuesday 30 January.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is among those who has previously voiced concern that Saudi clubs have longer to complete transfers.
"UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that," he said in the summer. "But in the end, at this moment, I don't know exactly what will happen. It's already influential for us, but we will have to learn to deal with it. Time will show."
Ben Hayward is the Weekend Editor of FourFourTwo. A European football writer and Tottenham Hotspur fan with over 15 years’ experience, he has covered games all over the world - including three World Cups, several Champions League finals, Euros, Copa America - and has spent much of that time in Spain. Ben speaks English and Spanish, currently dividing his time between Barcelona and London, covering all the big talking points of the weekend on FFT: he’s also written several list features and interviewed Guglielmo Vicario for the magazine.
