The Saudi Pro League season kicks off on Thursday, just before the international break, when Cristiano Ronaldo will probably make headlines by saying the Saudi Pro League is one of the top five in the world. If so, the 40-year-old is bound to reference Al-Hilal reaching the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup, drawing with Real Madrid then beating Manchester City 4-3. There is now something else, though, that the league has in common with its European counterparts – US money.
In July the ministry of sports announced that three clubs had passed into private hands. Al-Kholood, the only one in the top tier, have been taken over by an American investment company, the Harburg Group, run by the venture capital investor Ben Harburg. “The first three Saudi sports clubs have been privatised through a public offering – Al Ansar, Al Kholood, and Al Zulfi – with their ownership transferred to investment entities,” the ministry said
It is part of a strategy from the league to bring in foreign money. Building the brand of Al-Kholood is not going to be easy: the club have spent much of their history outside the top tier and are based not in Riyadh or the Red Sea port of Jeddah but Ar Rass, a city of 120,000 people about 250 miles north-west of the capital. But there is something to work with.
Al-Kholood were promoted in 2024 and finished ninth last season, helped by 15 goals from the Comoros international Myziane Maolida and a defence including the Nigerian centre-back William Troost-Ekong. The new owners have brought in the English manager Des Buckingham. The 40-year-old won the Indian Super League with Mumbai City, part of the City Football Group, and secured promotion with Oxford United to the Championship in 2024 before he was fired in December, harshly some thought, after poor results.
If England’s second tier is regarded as the most competitive and open of leagues, the SPL is not bad either in terms of potential winners, with a big four or even five in contention. In the summer of 2023, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli from Jeddah and their Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr were taken over by the Public Investment Fund and then the oil company Aramco got involved with Al-Qadsiah. Those were the top five last season.
Al-Ittihad were champions. The Tigers deserved the title, helped by the goals of Karim Benzema, assists from Moussa Diaby and the midfield brilliance of N’Golo Kanté. Laurent Blanc has kept the team together.
Al-Hilal finished second after losing their way in the latter half of the season. That cost Jorge Jesus his job as head coach and in came Simone Inzaghi. The Italian impressed at the Club World Cup and adding Darwin Núñez to the attack means that the 19-times champions, who tend to bounce back after disappointment, are the team to beat, even if their best player last season, Salem Al-Dawsari, is 34.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr were next, helped by a late decision that handed them three points and third place (and entry into Asian club competition) after losing to opponents who were found to have fielded an ineligible player. Stefano Pioli arrived from Italy a month after the start of last season but the Italian coach never looked settled as the Yellows relied on moments of brilliance from their star men. It was no surprise that he left over the summer. In a move akin to Mikel Arteta leaving Arsenal in May and turning up at Tottenham in July, Jesus has returned to Riyadh.
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The veteran Portuguese manager can call on Ronaldo after his compatriot signed a new contract for two more years. Jhon Durán has gone, and in come Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich and João Félix, who opened his account in the Super Cup thanks to an assist from Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is 61 short of 1,000 goals (and the only player to reach a century for four clubs) and wouldn’t mind lifting a first major trophy in Saudi Arabia as he approaches his three-year anniversary there. Having Jesus, who led Al-Hilal to a dominant title in 2024 and setting a world record winning streak of 34 games on the way, could make the difference.
Al-Ahli finished fifth but more than made up for a relatively disappointing domestic campaign by winning the Asian Champions League for the first time in May. Ivan Toney, after taking time to settle, was soon forging an understanding with Riyad Mahrez and ended up as the second-top scorer with 23, two more than Benzema and two behind Ronaldo. Al-Qadsiah were fourth in their first season after promotion and would have been third but for Al-Nassr’s late three-point handout. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has left for Marseille but has been replaced by the Italian striker Mateo Retegui, signed from Atalanta for almost £60m.
Of the others, there will be attention on Neom SC, a promoted club who represent a city yet to be built. The former Paris Saint-Germain manager Christophe Galtier is in charge with funds at his disposal. Even so, the big five are unlikely to become the big six just yet.
