THE Saudi Pro League was founded in 1976 and is the top division in the kingdom's league system.
Teams in the Middle East have been spending big courtesy of the country's Public Investment Fund — but when does the Saudi transfer window open and close?
When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window open?
The summer transfer window in the Saudi Pro League opens on July 1.
This is after the Premier League's summer window, which opens on June 14.
The winter transfer window in the Saudi Pro league opens on January 1.
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The January transfer window in Premier League will also open on January 1.
That’s the same as in Germany and France, but the window does not open until January 2 for Italian and Spanish clubs.
When does the Saudi Pro League transfer window close?
The Saudi League's website has confirmed that teams have until September 7 to get their last deals done in the summer window.
However, there was some confusion over the deadline day as FIFA listed the Saudi Pro League's cut-off point as September 20.
The winter transfer in window the Saudi Pro League closes on January 30.
The Premier League winter window closes on February 1 — so unlike the summer, English teams have a day longer to get their deals finalised than their Saudi counterparts.
What has been said about the Saudi Pro League?
Amidst Al-Ittihad's continued interest in Mo Salah, Jurgen Klopp has spoken about the impact the Saudi Pro League is having on the football world — in particular the longer transfer window compared with European leagues.
H said: "The influence of Saudi Arabia is massive at the moment.
"Pretty much the worst thing, I think, is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer. If I am right, I heard something like that, then at least in Europe, that's not helpful.
"UEFA or FIFA must find solutions for that. But in the end, at this moment, I don't know exactly what will happen. It's already influential for us, but we will have to learn to deal with it…
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"Time will show."
Portuguese soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo has said believes the Saudi Pro League could become one of the world’s top five leagues.
The Portugal skipper joined Al-Nassr in January 2023 on a contract reportedly worth more than £174million.
Ronaldo has played in three of the top leagues in the world, with spells at Real Madrid in Spain's La Liga, Manchester United in the Premier League and Juventus in Italy's Serie A.
The 38-year-old said the quality of the Saudi Pro League had improved even in his short time playing in it.
He told the Saudi SSC channel: “We are much better and the Saudi league is getting better and the next year will be even better.
"Step-by-step I think this league will be among the top five leagues in the world but they need time, players and infrastructure.
"But I believe that this country have amazing potential, they have amazing people and the league will be great in my opinion.”
