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The Saudi Pro League\u2019s \u201cremarkable\u201d spending spree on players is set to continue, according to one of its leading executives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the budgets are in place for a number of years \u2013 you know, I don\u2019t see this slowing down,\u201d said British director Peter Hutton, who sits on the league\u2019s board.<\/p>\n
The SPL has lured some of football\u2019s biggest names since five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo joined in January from Manchester United.<\/p>\n
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They include former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, Liverpool\u2019s former captain Jordan Henderson and established players from Chelsea, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.<\/p>\n
In addition, last month Al-Hilal made a\u00a0world-record \u00a3259m bid\u00a0for Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.<\/p>\n
Hutton, who has been a senior executive at Eurosport, ESPN, IMG & Facebook, said: \u201cI\u2019ve worked in sport for 40 years and I\u2019ve never seen a project as big, as ambitious and as determined to be a success.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to BBC sports editor Dan Roan in a wide-ranging interview for\u00a0BBC Radio 5 Live\u2019s special \u2018The Saudi Story\u2019,\u00a0he said it was \u201cnot necessarily a bad thing\u201d if European football was not as strong as it has been.<\/p>\n
Hutton also put the Saudi spending into context, saying \u201cit has got the world of sport talking but it\u2019s a quarter or a fifth of what Premier League clubs have spent this summer\u201d.<\/p>\n
City manager Pep Guardiola has said the Saudi Pro League\u2019s financial power has\u00a0\u201cchanged the market\u201d for transfers\u00a0and elite clubs \u201cneed to be aware of what is happening\u201d, while Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp has expressed concern about the\u00a0transfer window closing\u00a0late in Saudi.<\/p>\n
According to Transfermarkt, SPL clubs have spent 409m euros (\u00a3352m) so far this summer \u2013 the fifth-highest total in world football and more than Spain\u2019s La Liga\u2019s 254m euros (\u00a3218m). The Premier League leads the way with 1.37bn euros (\u00a31.17bn) spent.<\/p>\n
Asked how big a threat the SPL is to the established powers in football, Hutton said: \u201cThe investment from Saudi is remarkable. It\u2019s certainly been a big acceleration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that Europe isn\u2019t going to be as strong in world football going forward. But I would say that\u2019s not necessarily a bad thing. It\u2019s good that football has strength around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questions over \u2018sportswashing\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in sport in recent years and has been accused of using events to \u2018sportswash\u2019 its reputation.<\/p>\n There are concerns over human rights and women\u2019s rights in the country, while same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Saudi Arabia, with the death penalty a possible punishment.<\/p>\n Henderson\u2019s move to Al-Ettifaq\u00a0drew criticism\u00a0given his previous support of the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n Responding to these issues, Hutton said: \u201cThe reason I got involved in the KSA [Kingdom of Saudi Arabia] was I saw some of the stuff that was happening on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife works in women\u2019s football in Fifa, she was aware of what was happening in the kingdom. And you see that change, you see how much joy they\u2019re bringing to the local community.<\/p>\n \u201cThe changes in the role of women in Saudi community are remarkable and moving very fast. Clearly in Western eyes it could move a lot faster, but it has moved remarkably in the context of the history of the kingdom.<\/p>\n \u201cI look at the evidence I see. You\u2019ve now got 50,000 school girls playing football. You\u2019ve got 1,000 women coaches. In 2018 there were 750 registered coaches. Now there are over 5,500.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you see that as evidence of change, and women\u2019s football development as part of societal change. That for me is the real attraction of this project.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just about headline players and big transfer fees and wages. It\u2019s also about the whole Saudi football infrastructure, whether that be women, youth football, creating a whole pyramid that really transforms the sport in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Real clubs with real fan bases\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The SPL\u2019s rise has drawn comparisons with the big-spending Chinese Super League, which declined after a rapid start.<\/p>\n The country\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has taken over four of the SPL\u2019s leading clubs, while there is a centralised player acquisition centre.<\/p>\n Hutton believes the government\u2019s involvement in the SPL could be a template for other countries in terms of bringing together the academies, women\u2019s league, men\u2019s league, and football federation to \u201ccreate a roadmap for growth which is interlinked, not people fighting for territory\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Saudi League has 50 years of tradition behind it. It has established fans for established clubs. This is a real competition that we\u2019re trying to upgrade as opposed to starting something new,\u201d says Hutton.<\/p>\n \u201cThe good thing about the Mbappe bid and signings like Ruben Neves is it shows it\u2019s not just old players that are being looked at. It\u2019s more a question of what will add value, what will add glamour, what will add star factor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are real clubs with real fan bases who are genuinely excited, just as Chelsea fans or Manchester City fans were excited when the new influx of money and stars came to their clubs. It\u2019s not so dissimilar.\u201d<\/p>\n Commercial gains<\/strong><\/p>\n Asked when he expects the league to see a return on its considerable investment, Hutton says: \u201cI can see projections for income which are really strong in nine or 10 years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just important to see year-by-year increases and certainly the gates are up, TV revenues are up, sponsorship is up. I don\u2019t see why that should slow down.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr we suddenly had this interest from international broadcasters. Last year, we ended up in over 170 territories once Ronaldo signed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clearly something that\u2019s caught the imagination of broadcasters worldwide and that\u2019s been a really positive sign. I\u2019d be confident we\u2019ll get a broadcast deal in the UK for this coming season.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n