Saudi Pro League: Neymar Jr is the latest footballing superstar to trade European football for the riches of Saudi Arabia. The Brazilian forward has signed a two year deal with Al Hilal. He is now one of the highest earners in the Saudi Pro League alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
Also read: ‘Threw away career for money,’ Neymar Jr faces fans’ wrath after PSG to Al-Hilal move
The trend started with the winter signing of Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. Ronaldo backed this league to grow and said that players will come here. Here are the top 5 highest-paid players in Saudi Pro League and in this list, all players have joined Saudi clubs from Europe.
| Player | Club | Weekly wage (approx.) | Salary (approx.) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr | £3.6m | £173m |
| 2. | Karim Benzema | Al Ittihad | £3.58m | £172m |
| 3 | Neymar Jr | Al Hilal | £1.6m | £86.4m |
| 4. | N’Golo Kante | Al Ittihad | £1.6m | £86.2m |
| 5. | Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli | £865,000 | £45m |
Former Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez made a summer move away from the Premier League club and Al Ahli offers him £865,000 weekly wages. He recently won the treble under Pep Guardiola. He was part of Leicester’s historic Premier League triumph. Pep didn’t give him regular games in the final stage of the season. He was snubbed from the start in the Champions League and FA Cup finals.
N’Golo Kante comes 4th in the list of highest-paid players in the Saudi Pro League. The reigning winners of the league, Al Ittihad signed him from Chelsea. They offer him £1.6m per week and his yearly salary is £86.2m. He had a poor season with the Blues and the club also failed to gain European qualification after a long time. He joins Karim Benzema to defend the title for the club this season.
Neymar Jr enters the list with the 3rd spot and becomes the latest player to join hands with Saudi Pro League. Al Hilal offered PSG a huge transfer fee and the Ligue 1 giants accepted this. The Brazilian was looking to leave PSG and he found the best opportunity with Al Hilal. His salary is not revealed yet but as per reports, it’s around £1.7m per week and his yearly salary is £86.4m. He has signed a 2-year contract and will wear No. 10 jersey.
Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is the 2nd highest-paid player in Saudi Pro League. He is the only Ballon d’Or winner after Ronaldo signed a contract with a Saudi club. Al Ittihad signed him in June with a salary of £3.58m per week. He achieved everything at Real Madrid and won all major trophies. The 35-year-old made a call to play his final days of football in Saudi.
Who tops the list? It’s Cristiano Ronaldo who made the headlines when he moved to Al Nassr in the winter of 2022/23. It was a controversial exit for the Portugal international. He was keen to leave Man United and completed his desire by choosing Saudi Pro League. He is the highest-paid player in Saudi Pro League and he is the one who helped them to grow in Europe. His current weekly wage is £3.6m and his yearly salary is £173m. Ronaldo recently won his first trophy for Al Nassr.
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