After the clubs' revolution: how does the recruitment committee work in the Saudi league?

Since the summer of 2023, the recruitment committee has worked to lure global football stars to the Saudi Roshn League. Its remit recently widened to assessing the value of new signings.

The committee counts five members, according to the Saudi newspaper "Arriyadiyah", and it is headed by the Spaniard Jesus Arroyo, adviser to the chief executive of the Saudi Pro League.

Joining Arroyo are the Moroccan Zakaria Merdi, operations director at the Saudi Pro League, the Spaniard Vicente Fernandez Bujanti, the British national of Indian origin Sanjay Arulchelvam, and the Frenchman Romain Pirosky.

The same newspaper revealed that the committee is working through the Saudi Roshn League clubs' contracts with foreign players, after those clubs referred the files to the programme.

Recruitment committee officials lean on specialised scouts to estimate a player's true market value. They then review these reports themselves before issuing the final recommendation collectively, so no decision rests on a single opinion.

According to the Saudi newspaper "Asharq Al-Awsat", the evaluation analyses the player's technical level over the past five years. Assessors also review the number of minutes he has played, the goals he has scored, his goalscoring contributions, passing accuracy, and defensive and attacking indicators.

They weigh up the rest of the on-pitch performance criteria too, comparing the player with his team-mates in the same side and with players who occupy the same position in the league he plays in.

The study does not stop at the technical side. It extends to the market side, taking in the offers the player has previously received, or is currently receiving.

Analysts also set the player's value against his counterparts in the Saudi league and against similar players in the league where he plays, aiming for an evaluation that reflects both his technical and market worth in balanced fashion.

In the end, the responsible team submits a final recommendation built on all of these factors. That becomes the basis for the final evaluation, delivering fair estimates founded on data and analysis rather than impressions or personal judgement.

The committee confirmed that this mechanism is nothing new to the Saudi league. It has been in operation over the past three years.

What changed this time is that the Saudi Pro League association reinforced its application and recently expanded the scope of benefiting from it, after some transfer windows saw inflated prices in a number of deals.

On the most important question, which concerns the committee's intervention in clubs' technical decisions and prevents them from completing certain strong deals, the response was clear.

"Asharq Al-Awsat" clarified that the aim of the mechanism is not to obstruct clubs' signings, or to interfere in their technical decisions, but rather to provide a professional reference that helps regulate the market and achieve greater efficiency in spending.

The league stressed that a club retains the freedom to complete a deal whenever it believes the move serves its objectives, provided it covers the financial difference should its offer exceed the value estimated by the recruitment committee.

Saudi Arabia's "Al-Riyadiya" newspaper, meanwhile, cleared the recruitment committee of any responsibility for the crisis engulfing Al-Nassr, whose financial restrictions have blocked the club from completing any signings so far.

According to the newspaper, monitoring clubs' finances or issuing financial efficiency and compliance certificates falls outside the committee officials' remit. Other bodies and administrations handle those files.