Saudi Arabia to cut football transfer spending to €350M, lowest since 2023

Saudi Arabia’s football spending binge is officially on a diet. The Saudi Pro League’s summer 2026 transfer window came in at roughly €350 million, a 26.3% drop from the previous year and the lowest total since the league kicked off its global recruitment blitz in 2023. Where the money went Al-Hilal, as usual, did most of the heavy lifting. The club spent €193 million on its own, accounting for roughly 42% of the entire league’s outlay. The bulk of that reportedly went toward three attacking players. The rest of the league, however, was considerably more restrained. Average transfer fees dropped by about a third compared to 2023 levels, even as clubs actually completed more individual signings than in prior windows. Player sales hit a record $105 million during the window. Saudi clubs aren’t just spending less on incoming talent — they’re also generating revenue by moving players out, something that barely registered as a line item during the league’s initial spending explosion. The window closed around September 6-7, capping a transfer period that looked fundamentally different from the ones that preceded it. From marquee names to strategic bets Rewind to 2023 and 2024, and the Sa...