€60m from Aston Villa 

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Last summer the Saudi Pro League really announced its ambition to the footballing world as they ruthlessly splashed the cash and spent huge amounts of money, unknown to the league previously. Ageing superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and N’Golo Kante were now plying their trade in Saudi Arabia, but the huge wages being nonchalantly thrown out was even attracting top players in their primes. Rúben Neves joined Al-Hilal from Wolves aged 27, whilst a 26-year-old Allan Saint-Maximin traded the Premier League for the Pro League. Although the amount spent by the Saudi Pro League was not quite as high as some perhaps believed, as you can read in the Transfermarkt article below, it does seem as though the division is going to continue to spend big this summer. 

The biggest Saudi Pro League signing of the summer to date was confirmed on Wednesday, as French winger Moussa Diaby sealed his €60m move from Aston Villa to Al-Ittihad, having only spent one season at Villa Park. At just 26 years of age, Diaby has passed up the chance to play Champions League football with Villa to take up new pastures and line up with the likes of Karim Benzema in Saudi Arabia next season. The move cost Al-Ittihad €60m, but where does that rank Diaby on the list of all-time most expensive transfers to the Saudi Pro League?

Most expensive transfers to the Saudi Pro League

The most expensive Saudi Pro League transfer remains Al-Hilal signing Brazilian superstar Neymar from PSG for €90m last summer. The mercurial talent endured an injury-plagued first campaign in Saudi, making just five appearances for his new side – equating to a cost of €18m per game played so far for Al-Hilal. Diaby now joins a group of three players who have made the move to Saudi for a fee of €60m. His transfer from Aston Villa this summer, winger Malcom’s €60m move from Zenit St Petersburg, and Otávio’s €60m from Porto share the acclaim to the second most expensive transfer.

The fourth most expensive signing was Neves’ move from Wolves last summer for €55m. That’s followed by striker Aleksandar Mitrovic going from Fulham to Al-Hilal for €52.6m around 12 months ago. Sixth place goes to Fabinho’s €46.7m move from Liverpool to Al-Ittihad, whilst seventh is Sergej Milinković-Savić trading Lazio for Al-Hilal for €40m. Eighth is Riyad Mahrez going from Manchester City to Al-Alhi for €35m. In ninth and tenth place is Gabriel Veiga’s €30m move from Celta Vigo and Roger Ibañez’s move from Real Betis – both for €30m and to Al-Ahli. Other than Diaby all of the top 20 transfers came during last season’s transfer windows.