Over 30 new faces arrived from Europe amid unprecedented spending during the 2023 summer window, but who is putting in the best performances so far?
When Cristiano Ronaldo swapped Manchester United for Al-Nassr in January 2023, many saw his move to Saudi Arabia as an anomaly; a veteran superstar off to play out his final days in a non-European league where he would be paid handsomely but not be competing at anywhere near the highest level.
The following summer, however, painted Ronaldo's move in a whole new light. With over 30 big names from across the European leagues having followed in his footsteps amid unprecedented spending from Middle Eastern clubs, the Pro League has become the fastest-growing competition in the sport, with this likely just the start of the project, too.
And while the various transfers generated plenty of headlines, the players involved have since had to get down to business and start producing the goods at their respective new teams. So as we enter the mid-season break, which players have lived up to their price tags, and who is struggling to adapt to their new environment?.
GOAL has rated and ranked every top Saudi Pro League signing from the summer of 2023 to find out…
Getty Images33Jota (Al-Ittihad) – 2/10 ↔️
Signed for almost €30 million from Celtic, no one expected that after just a few weeks that Jota would be on the fringes at Al-Ittihad.
With just two goals in his 11 appearances, the winger is currently not available to play in the league after not being registered for the first-team squad in September, and there are now reports that the club will launch an internal investigation into how they came to sign one of the flops of the season so far.
AdvertisementGetty Images32Habib Diallo (Al-Shabab) – 2/10 ↔️
Having scored 20 goals in Ligue 1 last season for Strasbourg, Diallo was expected to fire Al-Shabab towards the top of the table, but things have not gone to plan as yet. The Senegal international has scored just once his new club following his €18m arrival as they languish in the bottom half.
Getty Images31Roberto Firmino (Al-Ahli) – 2/10 ↔️
Firmino started with a bang, scoring a hat-trick on his Pro League debut, but things have gone downhill pretty quickly since then. The ex-Liverpool forward has not found the net since, and became a regular target for those in the media amid Al-Ahli's inconsistent start to the campaign.
The newly-promoted side have since embarked on a long unbeaten run, but that has coincided with Firmino being dropped from the starting line-up, and he could yet return to Europe in January.
Getty30Neymar (Al-Hilal) – 2/10 ↔️
The most expensive signing of the Saudi summer, Neymar's debut season at Al-Hilal is already over following the cruciate ligament tear he suffered while playing for Brazil in October. Three games, three assists will go down as his final numbers for his first Pro League campaign.
