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Cristiano Ronaldo\u00a0generated worldwide headlines with his move to\u00a0Al Nassr\u00a0in December, and\u00a0Lionel Messi\u00a0could follow in his great rival’s footsteps by moving to the\u00a0Saudi Pro League\u00a0(SPL) this summer. But while football’s two biggest stars are raising Saudi Arabia’s football profile, intentionally or otherwise, sources told ESPN that this summer will see a change in the type of players moving to the Middle East nation.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia is hosting the\u00a0FIFA Club World Cup\u00a0for the first time in December, and the country is also planning to submit a bid to host the\u00a0FIFA World Cup in 2030 — a combined transcontinental tournament with Egypt and Greece has been proposed. And in its domestic league, Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr following the mutual cancellation of his\u00a0Manchester United contract helped transform the SPL from a largely unknown competition into one that struck broadcasting deals in Portugal, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland within a month of his arrival.<\/p>\n

Much of the focus has been on Ronaldo’s performances for Al Nassr and the prospect of Messi joining Saudi’s biggest and most successful team,\u00a0Al Hilal, when his contract at\u00a0Paris Saint-Germain\u00a0expires at the end of this season. The attention surrounding\u00a0the friendly between Al Nassr and PSG in Riyadh on Jan. 19, Ronaldo’s first match after moving to Saudi Arabia, offered a taste of what it might be like if the two were reunited in the same league for the first time since 2018, when Ronaldo left\u00a0Real Madrid\u00a0to join\u00a0Juventus\u00a0and Messi remained in\u00a0LaLiga\u00a0with\u00a0Barcelona.<\/p>\n

But sources in Saudi Arabia have told ESPN of plans for up to 50 players from Europe’s big five leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) and Portugal’s top flight to move to the SPL this summer. The plan, backed by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of sport, is for out-of-contract players in those leagues to be targeted by SPL clubs.<\/p>\n

Messi is the most high-profile player whose contract is due to expire this summer, but others include\u00a0Liverpool’s\u00a0Roberto Firmino,\u00a0Manchester City’s\u00a0Ilkay Gundogan,\u00a0Wolverhampton Wanderers\u00a0winger\u00a0Adama Traore\u00a0and\u00a0Everton\u00a0duo\u00a0Yerry Mina\u00a0and\u00a0Abdoulaye Doucoure.\u00a0Karim Benzema\u00a0is expected to extend his contract at Real Madrid, but he has still to sign a new deal at the Bernabeu. Sources in Saudi Arabia have told ESPN that the financial difficulties being experienced by clubs throughout Europe have created an opportunity for SPL teams to recruit high-quality players.<\/p>\n

Each SPL team is allowed to have as many as eight non-Saudi players on its books, with seven eligible to be selected for the match day squad. Right now in the 16-team league, no club has fewer than six foreign players and the majority have their full quota. However, sources have said that this summer will see a rapid uptick in quality, with clubs riding the wave of publicity generated by Ronaldo to overhaul their squads.<\/p>\n

One agent told ESPN that he has held talks with clubs in Saudi Arabia about international players from Spain, Morocco, and Colombia, with clubs also keen to discuss clients who are high-profile coaches. But despite the huge salary being paid to Ronaldo and the figures being reported in relation to a deal for Messi, a source in Saudi Arabia told ESPN that those players are regarded as exceptions and other potential signings should not expect outlandish deals.<\/p>\n