It is estimated that Saudi Arabian clubs spent about £780 million importing players last summer. This spend is mostly down to four clubs - Al Ittihad, Al Ahli, Al Nassr and Al Hilal (“The Public Investment Fund”).
The latest attendance figures for these clubs does not make for pretty reading, and supposedly the same level of investment in players going forward will not be sustained. This poses a challenge for big European clubs who had the Saudi valve to get aging and big contracts players off the books.
Other leagues have attempted to revolutionise themselves through spending before and typically this ends in a failure – the Chinese league tried to do this some time ago too. If anything, the data suggests there is a declining trend for the biggest clubs who regularly are in the top 3 or 4 finishing positions (note that Al-Ahli were relegated so only 3 of the big clubs participated in 22/23). The graph below shows average attendances for the ‘big-4’ since 14/15.
Perhaps the motivations were not to grow the league? If the aim was to host the World Cup rather than stimulate fan interest – this may well have been the investment required to bring credibility to the domestic league. The spending may have been worth it. I can never see European or American fans tuning in regardless of the talent on display. It is notable that claims of a wind down in player investment comes after Saudia Arabia were announced as host of World Cup 2030.