da apostebet： Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has expressed his frustration that the Saudi Arabian transfer window closes almost three weeks after Europe’s.
What is the latest Saudi Pro League transfer news?
da dobrowin： This summer has been all about the emergence of the Saudi Pro League as a major player in the world of football transfers with a number of top players leaving Europe to head to the Middle East.
Notably, the Reds have seen a couple of senior stars depart Anfield in recent weeks to follow the crowd overseas, in the form of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho, while Roberto Firmino also moved after his contract had expired.
Now-former captain Henderson joins Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard at Al Ettifaq, moving for a fee worth around £13m. Elsewhere, Fabinho completed a £40m move to Al Ittihad and Firmino signed for Al Ahli on a free.
While there is no doubt a benefit to being able to move on ageing players and still recoup some transfer fees, manager Klopp has expressed his concern over the Saudi Pro League with their transfer window closing on 20 September and the Premier League's on 1 September.
Indeed, as quoted in The Guardian, he urged FIFIA to look into changing the division's transfer market closing date, evidently fearing the idea that a Saudi team could make a late swoop for a key player leaving Liverpool unable to sign an immediate replacement.
In full, Klopp said: “The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment.
“Pretty much the worst thing I think is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe that’s not helpful.
“UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that. But in the end, at this moment, I don’t know exactly what will happen. It’s already influential for us but we will have to learn to deal with it … Time will show.”
What players have joined the Saudi Pro League?
Beyond those aforementioned three ex-Liverpool men, a number of other stars have joined Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Indeed, the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Neves, Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly and many others have made the switch this summer.
The latest big name to get in on it all has been former Red Sadio Mane who has swapped Bayern Munich for Al Nassr, to play alongside Ronaldo, earning a reported remarkable salary of £650,000 a week.
Speaking about his exit, the winger told Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg: "Leaving FC Bayern hurts me. I would have wished for a different ending. I know that I could have helped the team this season. I wanted to prove it to everyone this season. Nevertheless, I only wish the club and the fans the best for the future.“
While it may have been hard for him to leave Germany after just one season, Mane obviously didn't feel quite so attached to the cause that he'd turn down such huge wages and no doubt many more players will end up following him to Saudi before the summer market comes to an end.
But with theirs closing on 20 September, and the Premier League’s on 1 September, you can see why managers like Klopp have some concerns over the whole situation.