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Saudi didn’t go very well for them...

6 players who instantly regretted moving to Saudi Arabia: Neymar, Henderson…

Former Barcelona, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest stars are among the high-profile players who instantly regretted moving to Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Pro League has made waves in recent years by attracting some of the biggest names on the planet to the Middle East with eye-watering sums of money.

However, while players like Cristiano Ronaldo have thrived in Saudi, these six players seemed to regret their decision instantly.

Jordan Henderson

The former Liverpool skipper received plenty of scrutiny when he joined Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in 2023.

However, despite his critics at the time, Henderson went on the defensive and tried to defend his move to Saudi Arabia in an interview with The Athletic.

“I think there was always going to be criticism regardless of what I did, whether I stayed, whether I went,” Henderson explained.

“So basically I had to make the decision on what was best for me and my family. So the football is the football side. So do I go somewhere to try something new, to grow the game that I love in another country, and grow the league into one of the best in the world?

“That excites me because I want to grow the sport all over the world. And that got me going, really.”

Those comments aged like milk as the England international cancelled his contract with Al-Ettifaq just a few months after making the lucrative move.

He’s since come to his senses and has admitted that the move to Saudi Arabia was a mistake.

“I now realise that football runs through my blood,” Henderson told Dutch outlet Parool last year.

“The Saudi league is developing but it doesn’t suit me, I made a mistake going there. I am happy here at the Ajax project.”

Jota

Despite joining Al-Ittihad for a club-record fee in 2023, the club left him out of their Saudi Pro League squad as they could only register eight foreign players.

That oversight from the club ultimately left the Portuguese winger in limbo until January when they were finally able to make room in their squad.

However, after being messed around during his debut season, it’s no wonder that he headed for the exit door after just one year with the club.

The 25-year-old initially joined Rennes but has since returned to Celtic, where he previously enjoyed his best years.

Matheus Pereira

After becoming a fan-favourite at West Brom, Pereira made the lucrative switch to Al-Hilal in 2021.

However, the move quickly turned into a nightmare as the Brazilian suffered with his mental health during his time in Saudi Arabia.

“An absurd proposal came from Al-Hilal, from Saudi Arabia, and I moved once again,” Pereira said via The Players Tribune.

“I was scared of what this new change would do to my head, but it was very good financially. I talked to my wife and we decided to accept it.

“It didn’t take long for the psychological decline to reappear. There isn’t always a specific cause, I think it’s more of a lifetime, but living in Riyadh, I missed my church.

“In West Bromwich, we participated in a small Christian community and that strengthened me, I was supported.

“In Saudi Arabia, there was none. I also started to miss my parents and couldn’t find a way to get back in touch with them. Then one day I woke up and darkness had settled in my soul.”

After battling with depression, Pereira returned to Brazil in 2023 and initially joined Cruzeiro on loan before the move was made permanent last year.

The 28-year-old now seems to be back to his former self and is playing football with a smile on his face in his native country.


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Lewis Grabban

The former Nottingham Forest skipper made the switch to Saudi Arabia in 2022 but only made five appearances before his contract was terminated.

Despite signing a two-year deal with Al-Ahli, Grabban quickly found himself in a legal battle with the club over an unpaid wages dispute.

During the legal battle, Al-Ahli claimed that Grabban had ignored their requests to set up a Saudi bank account for payment, but the club was ultimately forced to pay him around $700,000 in owed wages.

Safe to say the 37-year-old probably doesn’t have the best footballing memories from his time in the Middle East.

Neymar

While his bank balance is probably looking pretty healthy right now, we can only assume that the Brazilian regrets his move to Saudi Arabia.

After only making seven appearances in 18 months due to various injury setbacks, his contract was terminated earlier this month.

Fingers crossed he gets himself back on track with Santos.

Neymar of Santos and Kaka of Sao Paulo

READ: 7 brilliant Brazilians who thrived after returning to their boyhood club

Aymeric Laporte

While Laporte is still playing in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, he’s expressed his discontent on a few occasions.

“They haven’t made it easy for us,” Laporte told Diario AS when discussing his move to Saudi.

“In fact, there are many players that are dissatisfied. They do look after us but not enough for my liking. That is to say, in Europe they pay you a good salary, but they take better care of you.

“Let’s be honest, many of us have also come here not only for football. Many of us are happy with that [financial gain], but I am also looking for something beyond that is not the economic part.

“In terms of quality of life, I expected something different because in the end, here you spend three hours a day in the car. In Riyadh, you spend a lot of time in the car because of the traffic.”