90min

UEFA president sends warning to Saudi Arabia over transfer spree

Aleksander Ceferin is not scared about losing high-profile players to Saudi Arabia; Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have already moved to the Middle East and countless other players have been targeted.

By Tom Gott

Ceferin had a warning for Saudi Arabia
Ceferin had a warning for Saudi Arabia / Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/GettyImages
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UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has warned Saudi Arabia that spending huge sums on big-name players is not the way to build success.

Cristiano Ronaldo's switch to Al-Nassr in January has opened the door to a number of other players. Former Real Madrid teammate Karim Benzema has already made the move and plenty of high-profile names are expected to follow in the coming months as Saudi officials prepare to inject huge sums of money into their clubs.

Asked whether he was concerned about losing so many stars to Saudi Arabia, Ceferin told NOS: "No, no, no."

He then went on to argue that Saudi Arabia's approach to business this summer could actually harm its own footballing future and urged officials to look back at the Chinese Super League, whose lucrative attempt to become a global powerhouse during the 2010s ultimately ended in failure.

The Chinese Super League saw a huge influx of money between 2012 and 2017, with players like Oscar and Carlos Tevez leaving Europe to sign some of the most lucrative contracts in history. But concerns over the long-term viability of the league led to changes in 2018, which limited spending and forced clubs to focus on producing homegrown talents.

READ MORE ON THE PLAYERS LINKED TO SAUDI ARABIA & THE MONEY ON OFFER

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"I think that it's mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football," Ceferin explained.

"Why is that a problem for them? Because they should invest in academies, they should bring coaches, and they should develop their own players.

"The system of buying the players that almost ended their career is not the system that develops football. It was a similar mistake in China when they all brought players who are at the end of their career.

"Tell me one player who is top, top age and who starts his career and went to play in Saudi Arabia?"

LISTEN NOW

On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Toby Cudworth is joined by Graeme Bailey and Sean Walsh to discuss the latest transfer news. On the agenda is future of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi's shock move to Inter Miami, Declan Rice's proposed Arsenal deal, Tottenham's summer plans and more.

If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

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