7 players who fell off the footballing map after moving to Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar are among the footballing royalty who have moved to the Saudi Pro League over the past couple of seasons – but what about the star names you’ve forgotten about?
Players who were considered among the Premier League and European football’s finest only a couple of years ago are among the players who we’ve completely forgotten about since they made their lucrative transfers to the gulf state.
Here are seven players who have totally fallen off the map since moving to Saudi Arabia:
Ivan Toney
It was only six or so months ago that Toney was scoring vital goes for England at Euro 2024, considered somewhere near the top of the pecking order for Harry Kane’s back-up.
Now he’s surely nowhere near Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the immediate future. He’s scored eight goals in 17 appearances for Al-Ahli after leaving Brentford but missed out on Lee Carsley’s squads over the last three international breaks and was never even in the conversation.
The striker is still only 28 years of age, so some part of him will surely rue missing out on international opportunities in his prime years. But he can presumably console himself with massive piles of cash, Scrooge McDuck style.
Sadio Mane
Your regular reminder that Mane was born the same year as his former Liverpool team-mate Salah.
While Salah has continued to light up Anfield, currently producing some of the best football of his career to lead the race for this year’s Ballon d’Or, Mane has become something of an afterthought.
The Senegalese forward left Merseyside in search of a new challenge back in 2022, but his move to Bayern Munich never worked out and he departed the Bundesliga giants after just one season.
Nowadays he’s lining up alongside Ronaldo at Al Nassr, but still searching for his first trophy with the club.
Roberto Firmino
The Brazilian stuck around at Liverpool for a year longer than Mane, but moved on when his contract expired in 2023 as the club looked to the future with a new-look midfield and attack.
Barcelona were among the clubs said to be chasing Firmino’s signature, but he ended up taking the best wage offer out at Al-Alhi. He’s frequently captained the side while lining up alongside fellow Premier League old boys Allan Saint-Maximin and Riyad Mahrez.
Firmino does at least feature for one of the Saudi Pro League’s better-supported sides, but their average attendance is still only a fraction of Liverpool’s and more akin to Championship sides like Sheffield Wednesday or Middlesbrough.
Gabri Veiga
“Embarrassing,” was Toni Kroos’ one-word verdict on Instagram after Fabrizio Romano revealed the highly-rated Spanish wonderkid was leaving his boyhood club Celta Vigo to sign for Al-Ahli amid the Saudi Pro League’s original assault on the transfer market in 2023.
There’s an alternate reality out there in which the talented midfielder joined Kroos at Real Madrid, or another one of Europe’s top clubs as he was touted to, and went on to feature for Spain in their Euro 2024 triumph.
In this reality he’s still awaiting his first senior La Roja cap, which will surely never arrive unless he moves back to Europe. He’s notched eight goals and five assists in 39 appearances for Al-Alhi but is something of a forgotten man.
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Joao Cancelo
It still feels like only yesterday that Cancelo was widely regarded as one of the best full-backs in the Premier League, if not all of Europe.
One falling out with Pep Guardiola and two high-profile loans away to Barcelona and Bayern Munich later and he’s turning out for Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal.
Cancelo does at least continue to receive call-ups to represent Portugal alongside Ronaldo, but you’d never have expected this fall from grace when he was starring in the first two titles of Man City’s four-in-a-row dynasty.
Moussa Diaby
Aston Villa have continued to punch above their weight, beating Bayern Munich while challenging to finish in the top eight of the Champions League group stage, after selling two of last season’s star players.
With Leon Bailey out of form and Villa looking a little light in midfield, you could make the case they could still do with both Douglas Luiz and Moussa Diaby.
Were Diaby tearing it up for a Premier League rival or Champions League powerhouse, his exit might’ve been tough to stomach. But given he’s out in the footballing wilderness at Al-Ittihad, it’s easy enough to forget about him.
The French winger has 10 assists in his first 10 Saudi Pro League appearances, including four in one game, but that’s about what you might expect at that level from a €60million signing.
READ: 8 big-name players who have turned down a move to Saudi Arabia
Houssem Aouar
We’re old enough to remember when Aouar was a daily fixture of the transfer gossip columns, a Julian Draxler or Leandro Damiao for the Covid era.
The French playmaker was most strongly linked with Arsenal, where he was tipped to kickstart the Mikel Arteta era before they eventually landed on Martin Odegaard.
He ended up staying put at Lyon until 2023, when a move to Jose Mourinho’s Roma proved as underwhelming as it was short-lived. He lasted just one season in the Italian capital and was swiftly moved on to Al-Ittihad.