The 2023/24 Saudi Pro League XI features Pogba, a Chelsea trio and… James Tavernier | OneFootball

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has bought four of the kingdom’s top clubs and are ready to turn on the money hose to increase the revenue of its football league and bring it up to ‘top 10 in the world’. Cristiano Ronaldo’s been at Al Nassr since January, Karim Benzema’s just joined Al Ittihad and many other slightly (or very) over-the-hill players have been linked with the Saudi Pro League. We’ve selected an XI from the rumours…

GK: Hugo Lloris Made way for Mike Maignan for France after the World Cup before being pushed out and looks as though he could also be on the Spurs chopping block this summer. Staying and being a club captain second-choice goalkeeper isn’t a good look and the offer to triple his wages in Saudi Arabia for a year or two would provide a nice top-up for retirement.

RB: James Tavernier You could imagine Saudi supporters being somewhat disappointed when all the bells and whistles used at the unveilings of Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo and other global stars are also rolled out for the Rangers full-back. ‘Ladies and gentlemen… put your hands together for… Jammessss Tavernieerrrrr’.

CB: Kalidou Koulibaly Chelsea’s £32m summer signing has ‘been approached’ by PIF with Al-Ittihad mentioned as a potential destination, though Koulibaly ‘will be able to join another club in the country should he wish’, which is a madness of a statement.

CB: Sergio Ramos ‘Saudi Arabia is the new Real Madrid!’ was GOAL’s headline as they reported Al-Ahli’s interest in Ramos, which given fellow former Madristas Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema play for Al Nassr and Al Ittihad respectively makes as much sense as England being the new Real Madrid had they moved to the Premier League. Until that is you realise that all three of those clubs, along with Al Hilal, are owned by the Public Investment Fund, so are essentially the same club. ‘PIF is the new Real Madrid’ would have been a more accurate appraisal.

LB: Jordi Alba Al Hilal were hoping to land Alba, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi in a package deal and we suspect two of those three were essentially carrots for the third. But Messi’s gone to Inter Miami and Busquets has been heavily tipped to join him, leaving Alba on the Saudi radar.

DM: N’Golo Kante ‘Here we go confirmed’ says Fabrizio Romano with Kante set to sign a €100m-a-year contract to join compatriot Karim Benzema at champions Al Ittihad. That’s a helluva lot of Mini Coopers.

CM: Paul Pogba Now eternally crocked it seems, Pogba is somehow now 30 years old and may well enjoy consistent bouts of rehab from the sunny veranda of some palace or other. Saudi officials reportedly see the Frenchman as the marquee among marquee signings.

CM: Joao Moutinho Moutinho could be off to Al Ittihad as a free agent, where he would reunite with former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo for a tidy end-of-career pay-day.

RW: Riyad Mahrez 15 goals and 13 assists this term but you kind of feel he’s at the end of his Manchester City tether having played no part in either of their cup final triumphs at the end of the season. Al-Ahli have reportedly offered him a two-year contract worth £40m a season plus bonuses, with the option of a third year, which may well be too good to turn down.

ST: Romelu Lukaku The butt of all the jokes after the Champions League final for heading a ball at a goalkeeper’s leg then getting his own in the way of a teammates’ poorly directed effort, it feels as though the world is against Lukaku, or at least Europe is. He reportedly met with Al Hilal officials to discuss a move on Monday.

LW: Roberto Firmino Romano says Firmino’s ‘got a lot of offers from Saudi clubs on the table’ but Real Madrid are also thought to be keen, which may prove to be quite the spanner for what we assume are the PIF entities.