‘Asia’s first super club’ – are Al-Hilal paving way for more Saudi success?

Saudi Arabian football played a significant role on Tuesday.

Fans awoke early to see Al-Hilal’s 4-3 victory over Manchester City in the competition’s final eight, while newly promoted Neom SC kicked off what is expected to be a busy summer transfer window by signing former Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette.

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) has evolved significantly since Cristiano Ronaldo’s signing for Al-Nassr in December 2022, as shown by Ronaldo’s Riyadh rival Hilal.

The Blues made their US debut with draws against Red Bull Salzburg and Real Madrid, and they advanced from the group stage with a victory over Pachuca of Mexico.

After winning the Club World Cup for the first time against European opposition, Hilal are confident ahead of Friday’s quarter-final encounter with Fluminense on Friday at 20:00 BST.

The four-time Asian champions are ready to join the global elite, regardless of what happens to the Brazilians.

Al-Hilal have just become Asia’s first super club, according to Professor of Afro-Eurasian sport Simon Chadwick of the Emlyon Business School in Paris.

However, Chadwick claims that this is not entirely dependent on spending after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United as well, purchased Hilal in 2023.

In those two years, they have added a mix of former stars like Brazilian forward Marcos Leonardo from Benfica, Chelsea’s Joao Cancelo and Kalidou Koulibaly from Manchester City and Chelsea, and former stars like Malcom, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, and Renan Lodi.

Neymar left for Santos after being acquired by Paris St-Germain. In addition, Simone Inzaghi took over as manager of Inter shortly after PSG’s Champions League defeat to the Milan side.

Al-Hilal has a loyal, loyal following for a long time and has achieved a lot of success, Chadwick continued.

“Al-Hilal has been elevated to a new level by the stability and discipline that PIF ownership has brought, in addition to the revenues the club is now producing.”

Ronaldo has stated on numerous occasions that he believes the SPL to be one of the top five leagues in the world, including last week by extending his Al-Nassr deal by two years.

Tarik El-Taib, a former Al-Hilal midfielder, agrees.

The ex-Libya international said, “When we look at the league, we talk about Joao Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Karim Benzema.”

The foreign players in the Saudi League are at a higher level if you look at the Spanish league, with the exception of Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid.

SPL clubs spent about $ 700 million on players like Sadio Mane, Neymar, Roberto Firmino, and Neymar during the summer of 2023.

More arrived a year later. Among them were Steven Bergwijn, Cancelo, Moussa Diaby, and Ivan Toney.

Al-Nassr spent about £65 million on Jhon Duran of Aston Villa during the biggest signing of January, which also reflected a growing interest in signing younger players.

Before the new year’s debut in August, more deals are anticipated.

Al-Hilal has been linked to Liverpool’s Victor Osimhen, Son Heung-min of Tottenham, and Darwin Nunez of Napoli as a replacement for Neymar, whose injured 18 months in Riyadh ended in January with his return to Brazil.

Luis Diaz, the English champions’ other South American striker, is reportedly a target for Al-Nassr.

There is some money. Six of the top 18 teams are among the richest in the world, out of 18 of them.

Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, two of Al-Hilal’s biggest rivals, were acquired by the PIF in 2023 in addition to Al-Hilal.

In May, Ahli won the Asian Champions League for the first time, but they finished fifth at home, one place below newly promoted Al-Qadsiah, fueled by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mexican striker Julian Quinones, who scored 37 goals in the process.

Neom SC recently received promotion in April, making them even better. The club are moving 130 miles west to the Red Sea coast from their current home of Tabuk early in the next ten years because they are a city that is still in development.

Neom have begun preparing for their first top-tier season with Lacazette, who was also supported by PIF.

The 2034 World Cup will be played in Neom, and there are rumors that Saudi Arabia will apply to host the 2033 club competition.

However, it’s possible that national team success will take some time to catch up.

Saudi Arabia must now move on to the play-off route after having previously represented the country at two World Cups. They are not one of the six Asian nations who qualified directly for the 2026 edition.

The Green Falcons finished third overall behind Japan and Australia, largely because they had only seven goals in ten games scored by unrecognized strikers.

Roberto Mancini complained last September about the lack of opportunities given to domestic stars because most clubs are filling their attacking positions with foreign talent and few Saudi players are moving overseas.

The Italian remarked, “Saudi Arabia’s international players must play for their clubs as core players.” In regional matches, I have 20 players on the bench.

Herve Renard, his immediate-program’s successor, has made similar remarks.

Firas Al-Buraikan’s situation serves as an example. The striker scored 17 goals in the 2023-2024 season, but Al-Ahli signed England international Toney from Brentford in August, and the only goal that came back was three.

that Al-Hilal, who is currently in the running for the title, is not concerned about it.

However, Chadwick claims that the real prize has already been won.