Saudi Pro League transfers 2023: Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and the superstars set to join Cristiano Ronaldo this summer

No one was expecting Benzema to leave Real Madrid this summer, but he had his head turned by an eye-watering offer from Al-Ittihad. The Saudi champions are reportedly paying him €200 million (£172m/$213m) per season. Benzema is set to remain at Al-Ittihad for two years, though he can opt to extend that by 12 months in 2025.

Despite being a key star at Sevilla, Yassine Bounou signed for Al Hilal on a three-year contract in a deal worth around €21m. The 32-year-old spent four years at Sevilla, initially signing on loan, and played a crucial role as the La Liga side won two Europa League titles. Not only that, the Moroccan was linked with a move to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich but opted to reject that for the Saudi Pro League.

After a lot of speculation, Al Hilal finally signed Aleksandar Mitrovic in a move worth around £46 million (€53.5m, $58.6m) despite the fact that Fulham rejected their initial approach. However, with the Serbian very keen on leaving the Cottagers for the Saudi Pro League, Fulham had no choice but to accept their fate. The 28-year-old has signed a three-year contract and left Craven Cottage after making over 200 appearances.

Despite serious interest from Italy and England, Otavio opted to sign for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr this summer, joining country-man Cristiano Ronaldo at the club. The 28-year-old signed a three-year deal and left Porto after spending more than seven years, making over 280 appearances. Reports have suggested that the Portuguese giants have received a hefty €60m ($65.5m/£51.5m) transfer fee for their prized asset, with the player set bank around €11m per year.

Following the arrival of Josko Gvardiol, reports indicated that Manchester City were open to selling Aymeric Laporte with interest from across Europe. However, it was Al-Nassr who won the race, signing the 29-year-old in a deal worth only €27.5 million ($30m, £27.4m). The defender made more than 150 appearances for the Cityzens and has signed a three-year contract worth around £21m per year.

In a shock move, Al-Ahli hijacked Napoli’s deal for Celta Vigo starlet Gabri Veiga after paying out the 21-year-old’s €40m release clause. That was despite the fact that Napoli had an agreement in place over a €36m fee as the La Liga side could do nothing once the release clause was paid. Not only that, Al-Ahli managed to convince Veiga by reportedly giving the 21-year-old a salary of around €30m across a three-year contract.

Chelsea were eager for Kante to extend his deal at Stamford Bridge. At one point, it seemed they would get their wish - only for the midfielder to eventually sign with Al-Ittihad. He is reportedly earning slightly less than Benzema and has agreed a three-year contract with the Saudi champions.

Neves' move to Al-Hilal feels a little different. Still just 26, the midfielder has plenty of miles left in his legs and has repeatedly expressed his desire to taste Champions League football in the recent past. Instead, next season he will be lining up for Al-Hilal, after the club agreed a €55 million (£47m/$60m) deal with Wolves.

Koulibaly must have regretted jumping ship to Chelsea as he watched Napoli end their wait for a Scudetto this season. While Kvaradona and Co were lighting up Europe, he was struggling badly at Stamford Bridge and his stay in west London will be cut short this summer as the Senegal international has agreed a deal to join Al-Hilal.

Mendy endured a testing 2022-23 season, spending a significant portion of the campaign injured and eventually losing the No.1 jersey to Kepa Arrizabalaga. Incoming Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was also reported to prefer Kepa as his first-choice stopper, opening the door for Mendy to depart. He was confirmed as Al-Ahli's first marquee signing on June 28.

Brozovic has been among the best defensive midfielders in the world for some time and started the 2023 Champions League final for Inter. Despite this, an untimely injury briefly saw his place in the first team stolen by Hakan Calhanoglu. Al-Nassr took advantage of his strain relationship with the Nerazzurri and snapped him in July.

Fofana's emotional contract signing, which took place in front of a full stadium in Lens, went viral last year. Less than 12 months on, he decided to move to Saudi Arabia. He will be lining up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo this season after signing a three-year deal with Al-Nassr.

Jota has cemented himself as a cult hero at Celtic in recent years, but when Al-Ittihad came calling he couldn't say no. He cost £25m ($32m) and, at 24, is one of the youngest European players to make the Saudi Pro League switch this summer.

Gerrard was reportedly all set to take over at Al-Ettifaq, only for the former Aston Villa manager to rule himself out of the running at the eleventh hour. Flash forward a few weeks and it appears that Gerrard decided to change his mind. His arrival was confirmed shortly after.

Long-term Man Utd target Milinkovic-Savic is finally leaving Lazio - but not for Old Trafford. Instead, the all-action midfielder is heading to the Saudi Pro League, with Al-Hilal reportedly paying €40m ($44m/£34m) for his services.

Firmino departed Anfield perfectly at the end of last season, popping up with a goal in each of his final two games for the club. These strikes proved he can still produce at the highest level, with Real Madrid rumoured to have considered a move for the Brazilian after Benzema informed them he was leaving. Al-Ahli, though, were the ones to get a deal over the line.

Mahrez helped City to the treble last season, but that ended up being his final act in a sky-blue shirt. He became the latest Premier League star to pack his bags for Saudi Pro League, with newly-promoted Al-Ahli landing his services.

There was a time when Telles looked like nailing down the left-back spot at Old Trafford as his own. However, following Luke Shaw's return to form, he was shipped out on loan last season and has now made a permanent exit from United. He'll be playing with former United team-mate Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.

The former Liverpool captain completed his three-year move to Saudi outfit Al-Ettifaq, where he will join former Reds teammate Steven Gerrard. The 33-year-old England international leaves Liverpool as a legend, having won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League and League Cup with them.

Hewill earn as much as £700,000 per week during his stay in Saudi Arabia. The transfer was a controversial one as Henderson has previously been a vocal supporter of LGBT+ rights.

After much speculation, the 31-year-old superstar and Brazil's joint all-time top scorer finally left the Parc des Princes for a mega-money contract at Al-Hilal, who paid a reported fee of €90 million ($98.6m) to secure his services. A romantic return to Barcelona never fully materialized, therefore the most expensive footballer of all time moved to Riyadh.

A loyal servant for Liverpool over the years, Fabinho endured an underwhelming 2022-23 season. The Brazil midfielder left the Reds in favour of a lucrative move to current Saudi Pro League champions Al Ittihad, where he will join Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante.

Lingard was released by Nottingham Forest at the end of last season, having failed to make much of an impact. Quizzed about a possible move to Saudi Arabia recently, he said: “I’ve never ruled any team out, any club out, so for me it’s picking the right team. It’s got to be right for me. I just want to play football at the end of the day. The project has got to be well-suited for me. The team’s got to be good and in the right direction. Literally, it’s just regular game time. I’m still hungry, I’m working hard and I’m going to be ready when called upon.”

Well, well, well. This would be quite the story. After going close to leaving last summer, Mbappe has now been placed on the transfer list with PSG receiving an eye-watering €300m (£259m/$333m) bid from Al-Hilal. The offer is also understood to include a release clause which only Real Madrid can trigger after one season.

Lloris has made it clear that he wants to leave Tottenham this summer, even though he has one year left on his current deal. Back in May, The Times reported that the Frenchman had been offered three times his current £100,000-per-week salary by an unnamed Saudi club. As he reaches the tail end of his career, it could prove a difficult proposition to turn down.

De Gea had been expected to remain at Man Utd this summer. But after the Red Devils attempted to force him to accept a lower wage than was initially agreed, the Spaniard opted to sever ties with the club after 12 seasons. Immediately, the Saudi links started, though no clear suitors have emerged as of yet.

Chelsea might be able to sell Lukaku to the Saudi Pro League too. After initially rebuffing Al-Ahli's approach, the Belgian is now considering an improved offer from the club, according to Marco Conterio. The Blues outcast had been keen to return to Inter, but with those negotiations stalling, he could end up in Saudi Arabia instead.

For a long while, it seemed like Ronaldo would have a new friend to play with! After missing out on a loan move to Paris Saint-Germain in January, Ziyech was said to be jetting off to Al-Nassr on a three-year deal. That was until a medical revealed an issue with his knee, with the deal falling through as a result.

Bernardo Silva flirted with the idea of leaving Manchester City during the previous two summers. Sticking around proved to be a masterstroke, as Pep Guardiola's side secured a famous treble last season. Rumours of his departure have resurfaced recently, with Al-Hilal in the queue to sign him. However, The Athletic have reported that he is likely to turn down the opportunity, with Barcelona and PSG remaining as options.

Modric was offered the chance to join former team-mate Benzema in Saudi Arabia this summer. Al-Hilal were his suitors, and they are understood to have offered the midfielder as much as €200 million (£170m/$219m) over three years. Modric was not tempted by the transfer, though, and recently extended his stay at Real Madrid.

Son pretty definitively ruled out a move to the Saudi Pro League in June, saying after South Korea's draw with El Salvador: "I have many things to do in the Premier League. Money doesn't matter to me now, and the pride of playing football, to play in my favourite league is important." That's the end of that rumour, then.

Rumours were rife at the end of last season regarding Mourinho's future. Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli were both reported to have approached the former Real Madrid boss, but in the end he looks set to stay put at Roma, despite the club falling short in the Europa League final.

Zaha's reputation as a Crystal Palace legend is assured and he looks set to ride off into the sunset this summer. Linking up with Ronaldo at Al-Nassr had seemed his most likely next step early on this summer, but he has since decided to turn down their advances, joining Galatasaray instead.