Most EXPENSIVE Transfers From The Premier League To Saudi Arabia So Far

It’s no secret – Saudi Arabia are intent on becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of football. They’re not a threat to the Premier League yet – but they clearly have the finances to lure players away from England’s top division.

Today, we’ll be looking at three of the most expensive transfer deals from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League in the ongoing summer transfer window.

As such, we won’t be including any players who have moved outside of the current transfer window – additionally, the players will be raked based on the transfer fees received.

With players such as Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, N’Golo Kante and Karim Benzema set to join the Saudi Pro League at the start of next season, who knows how many more could follow?

Edouard Mendy

When Chelsea signed Edouard Mendy in 2020, he appeared to be the best goalkeeper in the world at the time – sadly, injuries and poor performances put a dampener on his spell with the Blues.

As such, this summer, the Senegalese shot-stopper has been allowed to join Al Alhi in the summer transfer window for a fee of around £16 million.

This is far from the most expensive deal on this list – however, for an aging, injury-prone goalkeeper, it is still on the high side.

Kalidou Koulibaly

It’s a real shame Kalidou Koulibaly never worked out at Chelsea. He came in with a stunning pedigree from Napoli, but he couldn’t replicate his good form in Serie A at Stamford Bridge.

Due to this, the Blues have decided to cut their losses – Koulibaly will join his Senegal national teammate in the Saudi pro League, as he has moved to Al-Hilal for a fee in the region of £20 million.

Like Mendy, this is another move that makes sense for Chelsea. Koulibaly had underperformed at Stamford Bridge – and at 32 years of age, he isn’t getting any younger.

Ruben Neves

Topping the list by a considerable distance is Ruben Neves – the now-former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder has moved to Al-Hilal for a fee of around £47 million.

Unlike Koulibaly and Mendy, the loss of Neves will be a blow to his old club – he was arguably Wolves’ best player upon his departure to Saudi Arabia.

He had been a regular at the Molineux Stadium ever since he joined Wolves in 2017 – he was also responsible for scoring some truly spectacular long-range efforts.