Saudi Pro League will 'spend significantly' on stars in their prime

Saudi Arabia aims to be a “league for exceptional players” that attracts superstars in their prime.

Michael Emenalo, the Saudi Pro League’s chief football executive, said that the ambition was to create an “absolute top product” where the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe want to play.

In a wide-ranging interview with Telegraph Sport, Emenalo added that Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne – who are coming towards the end of their careers – are the “types of players” that the SPL will try to sign.

Emenalo claimed the SPL:

• Aims to be “the top league in the world”
• Recognises the attraction of a “brand” like Jose Mourinho
• Is looking at the kind of deals it can offer – beyond money – after missing out on Lionel Messi
• Wants to develop its own players and sell them to other leagues
• Will “privatise” all 18 SPL clubs

“It’s a special product, it’s a special arena to be part of and you have to be quite exceptional to be part of it,” Emenalo said. “So, the players that are recruited hopefully would have been properly vetted to feel a sense of exceptionalism.”

That includes, he said, making offers for superstars whose best years are still ahead of them having already tried to sign Mbappe. Al-Hilal made a world-record bid of £260 million last year which was accepted by Paris St-Germain but rejected by the forward who decided to run down his contract and will leave for free to Real Madrid.