The major theme of the 2023 summer transfer window was the spending power of Saudi Arabia and the masses of great players who chose to leave Europe and play their football in the Middle East.
The wages on offer were simply too great for players to turn down and prominent stars – and not just those over 30 years of age – chose to sign for clubs like Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ettifaq, Al Ittihad and more.
Fast-forward six months, though, and some of the biggest names who headed out to the Saudi Pro League are now doing all they can to return to Europe, regardless of how much money it may cost them or how it may tarnish their reputations.
Perhaps the highest-profile departure from the Saudi Pro League in January so far is Jordan Henderson. The former Liverpool captain opted to join Steven Gerrard’s Al Ettifaq in the summer, bringing an end to a 12-year career at Anfield.
Soon after arriving in Saudi Arabia, he gave an interview to The Athletic in which he defended his decision to go to a country where homosexuality is illegal after he had previously shown so much support for the Rainbow Laces campaign in the United Kingdom.
After suggesting his intention was to further the game in another part of the world, Henderson wanted to leave and signed for Ajax in the Netherlands. It seems he could be followed out of Saudi Arabia by former Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino, who joined Al Ahli but has reportedly also had enough and could land at Newcastle or even Arsenal in the January transfer window.
The other really big name who could leave this month is Karim Benzema. The former Real Madrid striker is being heavily linked with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United. It certainly isn’t a great look for the Saudi Pro League given these clubs didn’t throw the money around only to have players leave after six months.
There are a number of key reasons for players to not have clicked with life in Saudi Arabia. Some are sporting, some are cultural, and all of the reasons combined seem to outweigh the obscene riches on offer.
Lack of public interest in football
One of the major criticisms levelled at the Saudi Pro League when players started heading there was the lack of a football culture. That isn’t true, but it’s fair to say the game is nowhere near as popular in comparison to top-flight football in almost any European or South American nation.
For a player like Henderson who attempted to be a key part of growing the game in a region where football is not the primary sport, it must be demoralising to play many games in front of fewer than a thousand fans. Players were quick to talk about how much harder it is to play in empty stadiums or minimal crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it can’t have been a good feeling to play in front of 700 people and a load of empty seats when there is nothing stopping people from attending.
Al Ettifaq, Henderson’s former team, play in a stadium that can host 35,000 fans but their average attendance in 2023/24 is only 7,854. Their biggest home crowd this season of 13,930 supporters came early against Al Nassr, a team featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic, Sadio Mane and more.
The lowest attendance in the Saudi Pro League this season so far was 144, for Al Riyadh vs Al Khaleej. Obviously, the games that feature teams with players known for their work in Europe fetch more fans, but the bubble seems to have burst quickly, if it even inflated at all.
Stifling heat in the Middle East
This should not have come as a major shock to players, but football in the heat that Saudi Arabia experiences is a very different game. While some games are played in high temperatures in Europe, it is nothing compared to the number of matches endured in sweltering temperatures in the Middle East.
Evening kick-offs are essential to avoid the hottest period of the day, but games still take place in 40 degrees and intense humidity. Brazilian players like Neymar and Fabinho may be able to adapt to that more comfortably, but Henderson is from Sunderland and the furthest south he has played his home football is Coventry, where he featured just 13 times.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, who grew up in Madeira which is closer to Morocco than Portugal, spoke to LiveScore about how hard it was for him to adjust to the heat having also spent the bulk of his career in Madrid.
“The biggest difference I have found in Saudi is obviously the heat and adapting schedules to train later in the day when it is cooler,” he said. “But I have really gotten used to that now. The fans here have been incredible to me, welcoming me, and those that follow me to continue on this amazing journey.”
The Euro 2024 factor
The summer of 2023 must have been a very busy one for international coaches, with phone calls coming in from players who wanted to go to Saudi Arabia but also stay in contention for their national teams.
This was a major factor for European players given Euro 2024 is on the horizon. It would not have been easy for England manager Gareth Southgate to take Henderson to Euro 2024 ahead of other emerging stars in the Premier League had he continued to play at a lower level in the build-up to the tournament. Southgate has already faced a lot of criticism for continuing to select Henderson.
Some players like Firmino and Benzema were already out of the fold for their national teams before making the move to Saudi Arabia, so they are unaffected by this. Ronaldo seems to have assurances from Roberto Martinez that as long as he is scoring goals, he will play for Portugal.
The cultural differences
It can be easy for football fans to forget that these players have families that factor into every decision they make. While they get the benefits of the incredible money that footballers earn, they’re still human beings who want to like and be comfortable where they live. Many also have children and it is a huge decision to raise kids in a country extremely different to your own.
Saudi Arabia is a strict Muslim nation and even if the player in question and their family are not Muslims, there are laws and conventions that have to be followed. That is a lot to adjust to when being immersed into the community. The other option is to reside in an environment of other foreign nationals, which can be an isolating experience.
For a player and their family coming from a European country, Saudi Arabia presents some real challenges. Women cannot go out in public alone, and while now legal, seeing a woman drive a car is extremely rare. One of the reported reasons behind Henderson’s departure is that his family have not settled and they won’t be the only one to struggle to adjust.
READ MORE ON THE PLAYERS LINKED TO SAUDI ARABIA & THE MONEY ON OFFER
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