Is the Saudi Pro League Repeating the Same Mistakes as the Chinese Super League?
Money makes the world go round, but it can also kill natural growth when too much of it permeates a sport or any environment. The Saudi Pro League exploded in wealth and star power in the 2022- 2023 season when it started to attract international star players to play in the league. Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, known for playing for Arsenal and Napoli, is the first renowned player to come to Saudi Arabia to play in their league. He signed for Al-Nassr in July of 2022. This was just a sign of things to come for the Saudi Pro League. The biggest signing followed in December of 2022 with the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese legend who left Manchester United for a whopping 200 million per year. This was the signing that signaled the gold rush for players in Europe and abroad, and the Saudi Pro League was a big check with a relatively competitive level that was growing with the more talent that was being attracted.
The summer of 2023 followed, and the floodgates opened. The likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Kalidou Koulibaly, Rúben Neves, and Sadio Mané all joined the Saudi Pro League. Soccer fans across the globe started to take notice, and viewership and commercial interest in the league skyrocketed with all the new star power in the league. Not only has it attracted rising stars, but it has also attracted rising stars such as Colombian forward Jáder Durán. All of these signings are supposedly due to the goal of the Saudi Arabian government's “Vision 2030” initiative to diversify its economy and boost entertainment and sport. The Saudis also wanted to make the league globally competitive. What attracted all of these players was the high salaries that were competitive with Europe and even exceeded it in some cases.
Deja Vu? Is This Just Like the Chinese Super League?
The rise of the Saudi Pro League has a lot of parallels with how the Chinese Super League had its stint of attracting established superstars and rising stars from abroad, whether it be Europe or South America. The Chinese Super League also did this with high transfer offers and high salaries to snag these players from all over the globe. Eventually, the CSL introduced salary caps and other regulatory rules on foreign player limits. There were many corporate scandals as well that mired the CSL and its reputation. Unfortunately, some of its stars of the time that they attracted, such as Carlos Tevez, underperformed there and also showed disrespect toward their time in China, making statements that his time in China was like a “vacation” to him. This devalues the competitiveness of the league at the time, despite it having many stars of its time, like Oscar, Hulk, or even Didier Drogba.
The Chinese Super League has faced a massive decline post-2019, once its financial issues and the regulatory hammer started to strike down on the league, which restricted the ease in recruiting top talent globally. While the Saudi Pro League hasn’t faced this issue yet, it doesn’t necessarily have to repeat the same mistakes the CSL made at the time. The Saudi Pro League seems to have paid attention to the mistakes the CSL made and is keen on not repeating those mistakes. However, they should make sure they properly develop native talent by using the foreign talent they have attracted. The foreign exposure that they have attracted can be used to develop domestic talent in the Saudi Pro League, which, if done correctly, can be a huge advantage for future national team endeavors. In conclusion, at the moment, the Saudi Pro League is not a repeat of the CSL’s cautionary tale.
