According to one of the league’s top officials, the Saudi Pro League’s “remarkable” spending spree on players will continue.
“I think the budgets are in place for a number of years – you know, I don’t see this slowing down,” said British director and league board member Peter Hutton.
Since five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo signed from Manchester United in January, the SPL has attracted some of the game’s biggest names.
Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson, and established players from Chelsea, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich are among them.
Furthermore, Al-Hilal launched a world-record £259 million bid for Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe last month.
“I’ve worked in sport for 40 years and I’ve never seen a project as big, as ambitious, and as determined to succeed,” said Hutton, a senior executive at Eurosport, ESPN, IMG, and Facebook.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan for BBC Radio 5 Live’s special ‘The Saudi Story,’ he said it was “not necessarily a bad thing” if European football was not as powerful as it has been.
Hutton also put the Saudi spending in perspective, stating that “it has got the world of sport talking, but it’s a quarter or a fifth of what Premier League clubs have spent this summer.”
