Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Pro League, Football
Marcus Chan
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are reportedly offering lucrative deals to semi-professional footballers in a bid to persuade them to play in their fourth division.
Over the last two years, the Saudi Professional League have invested heavily to attract some of Europe’s biggest names.
Back in January 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first big-name player to move to the Middle East after he signed for Al Nassr on the back of his second stint at Manchester United.
Since then, the likes of Karim Benzema, Roberto Firmino, Neymar, N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez have all signed for Saudi Arabian clubs.
This summer, players such as Ederson, Casemiro, Alisson Becker and Kevin De Bruyne have been linked with a big-money move to the Saudi Professional League.
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Now, it has been claimed that Saudi Arabia are looking to invest lower down their football pyramid.
As reported by Spanish news outlet Marca, Saudi Arabia are in demand for semi-professional players for their fourth division.
Although the salary will be a far cry from the big-name stars, the players willing to move to Saudi Arabia will have most of their expenses covered.
The base salary is said to be between $10,000 and $20,000 for a 10-month season, but they will have their return flights, house, car and visa all paid for.
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It is believed that the players basically will only need to bring their boots and they could be given a huge bonus if their teams manage to gain promotion to the third division of Saudi Arabian football.
The report also stated that players looking to move to Saudi Arabia will have to meet several requirements.
For example, they have to be less than 30 years old, available to travel immediately, have a transfermarkt card, sports passport or a certificate of license from the teams in which he has played, a highlight video and have no criminal records.