Rodrigo Mora sparks major split in Saudi Arabia | OneFootball

Negotiations between FC Porto and PACE (Player Acquisition Centre of Excellence), linked to the Saudi Arabia Sovereign Fund and the League, regarding the transfer of Rodrigo Mora to Al Ittihad are suspended and, as A BOLA has found out, it is not guaranteed, from the Saudi club's perspective, that they will be successfully concluded.

The main obstacle is the substantial investment required – 70 million euros, an amount corresponding to the termination clause – which does not have consensus among the decision-making bodies responsible for this type of operation:

While Domingos Soares de Oliveira, CEO of Al Ittihad, is pressing for the operation to move forward, the ExCom (made up of five members of the PIF, the Saudi sovereign fund) and the Board – composed of other PIF representatives, a prominent municipal representative, and the president of a non-profit organization, Loay Omar Mashabi – are not in total agreement regarding the hiring of the Portuguese attacking midfielder.

Among these decision-makers, there is no guarantee that the investment of 70 million euros in Rodrigo Mora will provide financial returns in the short or medium term, a factor that has delayed the completion of the deal. The transfer window in Saudi Arabia closes on September 10 – nine days after Portugal – and it is expected that, by that date, the market will accelerate, with high spending not only by Al Ittihad but also by Al Hilal, Al Nassr, and Al Ahli, the other clubs under the PIF umbrella.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.