Footiehound

The Saudi Gold Rush: Has it Paid Off for Ex-Premier League Stars?

• Ken Anucha
• November 15, 2024

The influx of Saudi riches into world football has prompted a wide range of responses from the sporting world, ranging from mild interest to how the league can transform itself to accusations of ‘sportswashing’ by the Saudi government.

Several Premier League clubs have benefitted financially from this by receiving inflated fees for their players as Saudi clubs compete to attract new talent. Some of these have been for huge amounts, including Aston Villa’s Moussa Diaby for an eye-watering 50 million pounds.

But just how have these former Premier League stars adapted to their new surroundings? Read on to find out the answers.

Moussa Diaby (£50m)

The fact that Moussa Diaby has been something of an assist machine for Al-Ittihad shouldn’t come as a surprise.

The 25-year-old France international was a hit in the Premier League for Aston Villa last season as he helped the Villains reach the Champions League for the first time in their history with six goals and eight assists.

This time around, after a £50 million move, Diaby started the season on fire with ten assists in his first ten games, including a haul of four in just 77 minutes in a 7-1 thrashing of Al-Wehda. 

His eye for a killer pass has been one of the key factors in Al-Ittihad winning nine of those first ten, and why they were the league’s early-season pacesetters.

Ivan Toney (£40m) 

The sale of Ivan Toney to the Saudi League didn’t go down well with fans of his former club Brentford for two reasons.

The first is that the club stuck with him throughout his year-long gambling ban. The striker broke strict betting rules during his time at the club that forbid professionals from all types of gambling, other than lottery bets or games on an online casino website. Instead of selling him or possibly even firing him, they continued to pay his wages only for the forward to announce he was leaving soon after his comeback.

Secondly, the striker chose to move to Saudi ahead of a top European club, something which many of his fans feel is a waste of his potential as he hits his peak.

Toney has hardly enjoyed a prolific start to the season, either. His first ten games yielded only three goals, and he was even dropped to the bench for the 2-0 win at home to Al-Raed, although he did come on and get an assist. 

Al-Alhy will be hoping for a better return from the man who wowed the world with his ice-cold “no-look” penalty finish vs Switzerland in the Euro 2024 quarter finals.

Joao Cancelo (£25m)

Joao Cancelo’s last two seasons in Europe were plagued by uncertainty after the Portuguese international found himself bounced from England to Germany then onto Spain. 

This campaign he has at least settled into a groove, playing on his favored right side and helping Al-Hilal win seven of the eight games he’s played in. The 30-year-old should be a class above almost all of his opponents with his Champions-League-winning pedigree, but his habit of letting his focus slip means there’s always a danger that his performances will drop.

However, Al-Hilal will feel confident that with Cancelo and his compatriot Ruben Neves at his side, they can scoop the league trophy ahead of main rivals Al-Ittihad this season.

Daniel Podence (£5m)

After a summer of negotiations, Daniel Podence didn’t make his Al-Shabab debut until the start of November with a short cameo at the end of their 2-0 win at Al-Kholood.

The Portuguese winger has the ability to make a big impact on the league and his Conference League win with Olympiacos will add to his already abundant self-belief. 

Al-Shabab may not be one of the favorites for the title but with ex-Atletico Madrid ace Yannick Carrasco and Italian legend Giacomo Bonaventura in the ranks, they have the potential to beat anyone on their day.

Angelo (£19.4m)

At the tender age of just 19, Brazilian winger Angelo has done a lot of travelling. After impressing in his native Brazil, he was picked up by Premier League giants Chelsea, only to be loaned out to Ligue 1’s Strasbourg. A full season in France led to interest from Saudi and Al-Nassr signed him for almost £20 million this summer. 

The teenager has had a mixed start which has seen him in and out of the starting line-up, but he did score in a 2-0 vs Al-Wehda in September.

With the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo as a teammate, who has almost over 900 goals to his name, the youngster should learn a thing or two as Al-Nassr shoot for the title, but Angelo will need to show consistently strong performances if he is to nail down a place in the team.