Gary Neville says Premier League should stop Saudi Arabia transfers

Karim Benzema, the existent Ballon d'Or winner, is 1 of the highest-profile players to determination to Saudi Arabia

Gary Neville has called connected the Premier League to halt the transportation of players to Saudi Arabia until it is definite the integrity of its contention is not being enactment astatine risk.

A increasing fig of players astatine their highest are attracting involvement too, including Wolves skipper Ruben Neves, Chelsea's Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Arsenal's Thomas Partey. It underlines the league's ambition to beryllium 1 of the apical 5 successful the world.

Neville, though, is among those asking what each this imaginable enactment means.

In June, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which owns Newcastle United, confirmed it was taking implicit 4 starring clubs successful the country, including Al-Nassr, who signed Ronaldo successful December.

There is uncertainty implicit whether PIF holds a involvement successful Chelsea's eventual owners, the backstage equity steadfast Clearlake Capital, though nine sources person rejected suggestions of immoderate nonstop involvement.

"The Premier League should enactment an instant embargo connected transfers to Saudi Arabia to guarantee the integrity of the crippled isn't being damaged," Neville told BBC Sport.

"Checks should beryllium made connected the appropriateness of the transactions.

"If it comes done that process, evidently transfers could unfastened up again. But I bash believe, astatine this infinitesimal successful time, transfers should beryllium halted until you look into the ownership operation astatine Chelsea and whether determination are beneficial transportation dealings that are improper."

A question of wealth - and Financial Fair Play

Neville's comments person travel arsenic Saudi Arabian spending successful shot increases, and arsenic immoderate English clubs look a situation balancing their books.

Both Chelsea and Wolves person been facing hard decisions astir recruitment this summertime arsenic they effort to support wrong the Premier League's three-year bounds connected losses of £105m nether Financial Fair Play rules.

Chelsea spent much than £400m successful transfers past season, portion Wolves posted a £46.1m nonaccomplishment past twelvemonth and brag Julen Lopetegui said the nine indispensable "solve" their Financial Fair Play issues to vie successful the Premier League.

Wolves had thought Neves would articulation Barcelona this summer. However, the 26-year-old midfielder, who played for Portugal astatine past year's World Cup, has alternatively agreed a lucrative woody to articulation Al Hilal for £47m, a acold higher interest than anticipated.

Sources astatine Chelsea are adamant Saudi Arabia's PIF has "zero interest, fiscal oregon otherwise" successful the club. It has ne'er been denied PIF person an engagement successful Clearlake but it has been stressed the US backstage equity conveyance has 400 antithetic investors crossed six continents and it is thought nary shareholder is allowed to ain much than 5% of the organisation.

Multi-club ownership is not prohibited by European governing assemblage Uefa, which has truthful acold refused to comment. The Premier League does person a just worth appraisal strategy to effort to guarantee deals, some commercialized and transfers, are conducted astatine marketplace value. Fifa's transportation matching strategy is designed to bash similar.

The aim, ultimately, is to marque definite the rules are followed. No casual task, fixed that markets fluctuate, and a player's worth tin change.

Will the Saudi Pro League marque a large interaction connected that market?

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What's the pedigree of the league?

Saudi Arabia has ever had large involvement successful shot - and a competitory league to spell with it.

The nationalist squad person qualified for six of the past 8 World Cups. They person won 3 Asian Cups - lone Japan person more. In Qatar past year, each 26 members of the squad played for home clubs. No nine person won the AFC Champions League much times than Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal, with 4 victories.

In caller years, Saudi Arabia has go a much ocular beingness connected the sporting scene, hosting Formula 1 races and high-profile satellite rubric boxing bouts arsenic good arsenic setting up LIV Golf.

The controversial acquisition of Newcastle was further grounds of a increasing involvement successful utilizing athletics to task Saudi Arabia to a wider audience. A associated 2030 World Cup bid with Egypt and Greece is planned too.

"Saudi Arabia sees itself arsenic being astatine the centre of a caller satellite bid and investing successful athletics helps lend to that nationalist positioning," Simon Chadwick, prof of athletics and geopolitical system astatine Skema Business School successful Paris, was quoted arsenic saying recently.

Improving the Saudi Arabian league is portion of that program - with the assistance of high-profile names.

Former Leeds and Wolves guardant Helder Costa, erstwhile Argentina planetary Ever Banega and erstwhile Watford and Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo each featured past season, erstwhile Al-Ittihad, coached by erstwhile Wolves and Tottenham brag Nuno Espirito Santo, finished arsenic champions.

Is this different Chinese Super League?

When a league becomes a large subordinate successful the satellite transportation market, questions astir its fiscal sustainability volition follow.

The Chinese Super League, for a little period, attracted overmuch involvement and paid immense sums to pull high-profile players, specified arsenic erstwhile Manchester United and City guardant Carlos Tevez. Such levels of spending didn't last.

But the Saudi Pro League believes it is built connected much coagulated foundations.

"The league is good established, going since the 1970s, and clubs person a existent fanbase who attraction astir shot which makes it authentic and not artificial," a elder league root told BBC Sport.

"When it happened successful China, it wasn't explicitly authorities money. It was astir encouraging entrepreneurs to bash things. Then that stopped. Here the backing is much unafraid and portion of a semipermanent plan. The clubs are good established successful the section communities and shot crossed the state is by acold the fig 1 sport.

"Although the league has a just magnitude of overseas players, it's the large stars who get you worldwide TV coverage. As soon arsenic Ronaldo came in, the league started to beryllium shown successful each large market. It gets that contiguous attention.

"The announcement that the apical 4 clubs volition beryllium 75% owned by PIF, alternatively than by the state, turns them into a due business. It is not conscionable astir bringing successful apical players but besides astir changing the system of the crippled present to marque it much backstage assemblage and make clubs and companies and brands.

"The Ronaldo transportation proved it tin happen. It is 1 happening to accidental 'we are going to motion the champion players successful the world' but for idiosyncratic of Ronaldo's presumption to really come, unrecorded successful Riyadh and play each game, was a astonishment to radical and showed we could get different radical to come."

Is Europe disquieted astir a endowment drain?

For European football, the emergence of the Saudi Pro League presents a challenge.

Losing cardinal players is not a caller acquisition - China and Major League Soccer person tempted stars distant successful the past. However, the departure of players successful their prime, specified arsenic Neves, is simply a concern.

If helium tin prime up the benignant of eye-watering wage speculated at, however bash European clubs respond? Even among the apical 20 successful Deloitte's rich-list, funds are not limitless and fiscal regulations person to beryllium adhered to. If they effort to vie implicit an extended period, it would materially interaction clubs' biggest outlay - salaries.

And what astir the Champions League? If it's pre-eminence arsenic a nine contention started to beryllium undermined by an lack of satellite football's biggest names, could clubs from extracurricular Europe beryllium offered entries?

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin doesn't spot it that way.

"It's chiefly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football," helium told Dutch broadcaster NOS. "They should put successful academies, bring their ain coaches and make their ain players.

"The strategy of buying players that are astir astatine the extremity of their vocation is not the strategy that develops football. It was a akin mistake successful China erstwhile they each brought players who are astatine the extremity of their career.

"It's not lone astir money. Players privation to triumph apical competitions. And the apical contention is successful Europe."