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These guys snubbed some serious money

Where are they now? 10 players the Saudi Pro League tried & failed to sign last summer

The top Saudi Pro League clubs splashed some serious money last summer, but they weren’t able to sign all of their top targets.

Big names such as Neymar, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante arrived in the league last summer, although a number of high-profile Saudi Pro League targets slipped through the cracks.

We’ve gone back to last summer and have checked out where 10 of the Saudi Pro League failed transfer targets are today.

Lionel Messi

Before landing a deal for Neymar, Al-Hilal were going all out to sign Messi who was available on a free transfer upon leaving PSG.

Despite being offered a ludicrous amount of money, Messi snubbed the offer from Saudi Arabia in favour of joining MLS outfit Inter Miami instead.

While the financial incentive to move to the United States perhaps wasn’t as strong, Messi certainly seems to be enjoying life in Miami playing alongside the likes of Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets.

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool rejected a mouthwatering £150million bid from Al-Ittihad last summer. Saudi dealmakers have made it no secret that they want to bring Salah to Saudi Arabia at some point, but so far no deal has been agreed.

He continued to smash them in for Liverpool last season, although with his current contract set to expire in 2025, Saudi clubs have been sniffing around once again.

Romelu Lukaku

Al-Hilal tried to sign Lukaku last summer, but after failing to land his signature, they signed Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic instead.

Lukaku himself admitted that he had mixed feelings about moving to Saudi Arabia last year.

“That was really intense at the time,” Lukaku said. “For two weeks. For two days in a row I thought, ‘Yes, I’m going’, ‘No, I’m not going’.

“Because everyone only went to Saudi Arabia after I could sign there, I was scared for a moment.”

After spending last season on loan with Roma, the Chelsea forward is now being heavily linked with a move to Napoli.

Ousmane Dembele

Dembele rejected a lucrative move to Al-Nassr last summer in favour of signing for French champions PSG. The Frenchman won three trophies during his debut season and following the departure of Kylian Mbappe, is now the highest-paid player at the club.

Luka Modric

Al-Hilal were unable to tempt Modric to the Middle East as the legendary Croatian midfielder opted to stick around at Real Madrid instead.

While he’s no longer a guaranteed starter, the 38-year-old still has a role to play within Carlo Ancelotti’s side. He recently signed a new one-year extension that will keep him at the club until 2025.


READ NEXT: The mind-boggling highest-paid XI in the Saudi Pro League in 2024-25: Ronaldo, Neymar…

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the 25 most expensive transfers of all time?


Olivier Giroud

The Frenchman rejected the lure of Saudi Arabia last summer in favour of sticking around at AC Milan for another year.

He bagged an impressive 17 goals for the club in his final season and has since signed for MLS outfit Los Angeles FC. We sure can’t wait to see him in the States.

Toni Kroos

Kroos snubbed a lucrative deal from Saudi Arabia last summer in favour of staying with Real Madrid in his final season as a professional.

He’s also been quite vocal in his criticism of young players moving to the Middle East during their peak years.

“Everyone has to make this decision for themselves, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, who decided to do so towards the end of his career,” Kroos said.

“But it becomes very difficult when players who are in the middle of their careers and have the quality to play for top clubs in Europe decide to make such changes.

“And then it is said that they play ambitious football there – and it’s all about the money. In the end it’s a decision for the money – and against football. And from there it starts to get difficult for the football we all know and love.”

Jamie Vardy

Al-Khaleej were among the clubs who wanted to sign Vardy in the summer, but a deal wasn’t agreed upon in the end.

Instead, Vardy decided to stick around at Leicester City and it paid dividends as he fired them back to the Premier League, scoring 20 goals across the season.

Angel Di Maria

Di Maria himself admitted that he was offered ‘crazy’ money by Saudi Arabia, but he instead chose to return to Benfica.

“They called me from Saudi Arabia, I had many calls from them,” Di Maria said. “The numbers they are offering are crazy, but I chose with my heart, I wanted to return to Benfica.”

After spending last year playing in Portugal, the 36-year-old is now a free agent and is looking for a new club.

Robert Lewandowski

We can’t imagine how many goals Lewandowski would have scored in the Saudi Pro League, had he made the switch to the Middle East last summer.

The Polish forward reportedly turned down an offer that was worth around £126million per year in favour of staying with Barcelona.

Lewandowski is still under contract with Barcelona until 2026, with the option of an extra year.