The Saudi Pro League is dominating the 2023 summer transfer window with rumours that big-name stars will flock to Saudi Arabia. Cristiano Ronaldo started the trend, of course, taking an enormous contract at the start of the year to play for Al-Nassr.

Things are really starting to ramp up, however, and Football FanCast takes you through the latest news and rumours…

Why are players moving to the Saudi Pro League?

So why has there been a sudden rise in transfer activity in this part of the world? Essentially, it comes down to investment from the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, or PIF. You’ll have heard a lot about it when PIF purchased Newcastle United, of course.

Well, the same fund has purchased majority stakes in Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad. The former two are the biggest clubs in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The latter two are the biggest in Jeddah, the country’s second-largest city. All four now have incredible wealth behind them and are looking to make waves.

A steady stream of players have followed in Ronaldo’s footsteps by ditching European football for a go at the Saudi Pro League. And as the following list of players shows, there seems to be no sign of it stopping following the official start of the transfer window.

So who has decided to make the move so far? Here’s a rundown of the high-profile transfers and the latest moves from the Saudi clubs:

Roger Ibanez – AS Roma to Al-Ahli

Roma have apparently landed around £27m for Roger Ibanez, who joins Al-Ahli this week. He initially joined the Italian side on loan in 2020 before signing permanently for around £6m. Now he moves for over four times that value to Saudi Arabia.

That’s not bad business, especially when the 24-year-old Brazilian has a mixed reputation. One team gutted to see him leave Italy were Roma’s rivals Lazio, who shed a tear at the transfer on Twitter.

Franck Kessie – Barcelona to Al-Ahli

Franck Kessie had a terrible time with Barcelona, having signed on a free transfer there last summer. He leaves with a title medal, admittedly, but the player just never made much of an impact in Catalonia.

They’ve now landed roughly £10m by letting him join the exodus to Saudi Arabia. Despite the struggles, it is still a coup for Al-Ahli – Kessie was one of the most interesting midfielders in Europe with AC Milan. Recapture that magic, and they’ve got a star.

What are the latest Saudi Pro League rumours?

There are a lot of rumours about potential arrivals in Saudi Arabia right now. Here’s an attempt to round them all up – but it feels impossible to grab them all. You may well find yourself linked in a national newspaper by the end of the week.

Don’t be surprised if the following players take the plunge…

Neymar – Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal

They tried to get Lionel Messi and couldn’t. They tried to get Kylian Mbappé and couldn’t. Now it’s Neymar’s turn. The Brazilian looks set to leave PSG this summer with the Parisians working towards an exit.

Fabrizio Romano now reports that there’s a proposal on the table from Al-Hilal – but also from MLS. We imagine some European sides will also try to tempt Neymar, but if he wants the Saudi move, the option is very much there.

Thiago – Liverpool to Al-Ahli

L’Équipe claims that Thiago has a new offer on the table from Al-Ahli as they try to be the latest Saudi side to tempt a midfielder away from Liverpool. They’re just all up for grabs, aren’t they?

Both Fabinho and Jordan Henderson opted to jump ship, but we get the sense Thiago won’t. He’s reportedly rejected one offer from Saudi Arabia already this summer and it doesn’t appear that this one will tempt him, either. Liverpool would get around £10m if it went through – but don’t hold your breath.

Then again, few would have seen Henderson and Fabinho’s exits coming.

Willian – Fulham to Al-Shabab

What a bizarre one this is. Willian had plenty of options this summer as his Fulham contract ended – but he decided to remain with the Cottagers. He signed a new deal and was all set to continue there.

That was two weeks ago. Now he’s got an offer from Al-Shabab and wants Fulham to accept. Fabrizio Romano even claims personal terms have been agreed.

Marcos Llorente – Atletico Madrid to Al-Ahli

A rare one here as a player in the prime of his career could make the move out to the Middle East. Llorente is a notable name in European football – and a player who could play for just about anyone. But there’s increasing talk that he’s on his way to Al-Ahli.

Journalist Nabil Djellit claims the Saudi side are increasingly confident about completing a deal this summer.

Aleksandar Mitrovic – Fulham to Al-Hilal

Fulham certainly didn’t want to sell Mitrovic this summer but things became difficult once he learned Al-Hilal would triple his wages. That’s the line from the Evening Standard, amongst others, as the Cottagers stand firm on a £50m price.

It remains to be seen if Al-Hilal will pay that, but what’s clear is that Mitrovic’s head has been turned. This one was some way to run, but expect some sort of fallout one way or another.

Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal

The biggest transfer story of the summer – and it might be over already. PSG want to sell Kylian Mbappé this summer, with his contract expiring next year. Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal then approached them with a world-record offer of around £240m.

The thing is, though, Mbappé seemingly wants to sign for Real Madrid in 2024. That makes the offer from Al-Hilal look ridiculous if it was for just one year of football, right? Especially if they were to then offer him a minimum of £200m in wages for that one year, with up to £700m depending on image rights.

And yet, that’s what they’ve done. One year, up to £1bn in cost. Mbappé, though, isn’t interested and, per The Guardian, has rejected the offer without even holding talks. This isn’t about money, it seems, but we’ll just have to see what happens next.

Marco Verratti – Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal

Well, if Al-Hilal can’t get Mbappé, they’ll try for his teammate instead. Fabrizio Romano claims Verratti has accepted a three-year contract already and wishes to head to Saudi Arabia.

However, PSG won’t accept the £30m bid put to them. They’ll want more, but the suggestion here is that ‘more’ is indeed on its way soon. This one could move fast.

Thomas Partey – Arsenal to Unknown

Fabrizio Romano understands there is still interest from Saudi Arabia in Partey – but no bid has been enough to trigger a sale. In fact, Romano claims there were approaches from Saudi clubs just days ago.

As long as those approaches fall short of the £40m valuation by Arsenal, though, Partey isn’t going anywhere soon. Mikel Arteta is happy to have him around as things stand, so we’ll wait and see.

Luis Díaz – Liverpool to Al-Hilal

Portuguese outlet Record claims that there’s a £40m bid on the table for Liverpool to consider. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that the Reds accept it – Díaz arrived for around that fee 18 months ago and has been incredible ever since.

This would truly be the most shocking transfer of the lot, so we wouldn’t recommend you hold your breath.

Hakim Ziyech – Chelsea to Al-Nassr

Ziyech was due to move to Al-Nassr to play with Cristiano Ronaldo next season, though it has recently been reported that an issue in his medical has thrown a spanner in the works.

Other reports claim it was personal terms that saw the move collapse, but it leaves the Moroccan still seeking a Chelsea exit having seen a move to Paris Saint-Germain fall through in the winter.

He would be the latest Blues player to move to the region, and the raft of Chelsea players seemingly off to Saudi Arabia has even sparked a conspiracy – prompting an investigation by The Athletic to work out just what could be behind this, as concerns rise that the state is effectively funding the club.

Saúl – Atletico Madrid to Al-Nassr

Saúl appears set to leave Atletico Madrid permanently this summer and Al-Nassr want him at their club. Romano, once again, understands this one is close. The 28-year-old, briefly of – you guessed it – Chelsea, only made 11 La Liga starts last term so could be looking to move for more regular game time, and Al-Nassr may just offer him a way out.

Bernardo Silva – Manchester City to Unknown

The Athletic claims that the Pro League want Bernardo Silva, who is widely rumoured to be leaving City this summer. They describe it as ‘one of the most ambitious moves yet’ from the league. There isn’t a club attached to the talk, however, and it appears Silva would almost have his pick. But the report also understands that he’ll likely reject any move to Saudi Arabia in favour of staying in Europe.

Alvaro Morata – Atletico Madrid to Al-Hilal

This comes from the Daily Mail. It reports that Al-Hilal are ready to sign Alvaro Morata and would offer Atletico around £20m to get it done. As for the player, the Spanish striker would earn £40m per year if he made the move to the Middle East.

Morata has changed clubs frequently over the course of his career, winning just about everything he possibly can at club level. He’s also a former Chelsea player, and we know how much Saudi Arabian clubs seem to love that.

The Spaniard is widely expected to move on this summer, but there weren’t previously any suggestions of a move to Saudi Arabia. As we’re learning this summer, though, every big-name player appears to be a target.