The Saudi Pro League is not planning another spending spree this summer, with the league's average attendances slumping despite the signings of several big stars.
Following Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Al Nassr, the league has invested heavily in the transfer market with the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and N'Golo Kante all making lucrative switches to the Saudi Arabia last summer.
According to Deloitte, the Saudi Pro League spent $957million (£749m) on new players in the summer window, with only the Premier League outspending them. As a result of their investment, the league has secured new broadcast deals in over 130 territories worth more than four times what they were receiving last season.
However, the new signings have not had the same effect on attendances, with the league's average attendance just 8,321. That is down around 10 per cent from last season and Carlo Nohra, Chief Operating Officer of the Saudi Pro League, has admitted clubs will have to sell players first in order to make new signings this summer.
"The deals were not signed for just one season so it is imperative to the clubs to try to act, they will have to offload players to free up some budget to be able to buy new ones," Nohra told Bloomberg.
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Clubs were given a three-year budget by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and currently there are no plans to change this. And when asked about attendances being down despite the big name signings, Nohra claimed that stadium facilities have been a "major contributing factor".
He added: "Making consumer experience a better experience is part of the transformation strategy, but nothing is going to change overnight, especially with the kind of facilities we have at the moment."
That is despite the league investing heavily in players like Neymar last summer (Getty Images)Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 World Cup after Australia's decision to pull out of the race left them as the only contender and they will be required to have at least 14 stadiums with a 40,000+ capacity. There are currently just two stadiums which meet that threshold and Saudi Arabia are investing heavily in new infrastructure ahead of the tournament.
"The 2034 FIFA World Cup is our invitation to the world to witness Saudi Arabia's development, experience its culture and become part of its history," Yasser Al Misehal, President of the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, said after submitting their World Cup bid last year.
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