Pep Guardiola: Saudi Money Changed The Transfer Market
Riyad Mahrez is just one of the money high profile players that are moving to Saudi Arabia this summer. Al-Ahli paid a £30 million ($38.7 million) transfer fee for Mahrez to join the Saudi league. With Mahrez set to leave Manchester City, Pep Guardiola talked about how Saudi money has changed the transfer market.
“Definitely. I enjoyed as a manager to be with him. I had a special relationship with him.
“Saudi Arabia has changed the market. A few months ago when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was the only one to go, no one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league.”
“In the future, there will be more, and that’s why clubs need to be aware of what is happening. Riyad got an incredible offer, and that’s why we could not say, ‘Don’t do it.'”
“They want to create a strong league, and so far they are the league who can do it,” Guardiola added.
“Right now, the Saudi league, I don’t know how long they will sustain it, but the feeling is that they will stay. The players want to take this experience to play in that league, and they are able to do it.”
Pep is probably right. It doesn’t look like the Saudi money is going away. They will continue to try to hunt talent in an effort to make the league more viable. It’s just another thing you have to worry about as a manager having your players possibly get poached for the growing Saudi league.
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