The Rise of the Saudi Pro League

posted on: Jan 14, 2026

By Jake Harris / Arab America Contributing Writer

Becoming a major sports hub is one of the many goals of Vision 2030. It is a blueprint to move Saudi Arabia into the future with economic modernizations. The Saudi Professional Football League has been in existence since the mid 20th century. The League has undergone numerous brand changes and format changes leading up to today. Today, the league has arguably the strongest team outside Europe. A source of wealth in soccer, in which the top clubs can rival the world’s biggest clubs for the best players. 

2023 PIF Investment in Saudi Soccer

In 2023, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, invested in four clubs in the Saudi Pro League. They are the four historically dominant soccer clubs in Saudi Arabia. Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, and Al-Ahli. This investment in soccer for the Saudi wealth fund coincided with the PIF’s purchase of Newcastle United FC. Newcastle is a large English club looking to get back to the top of the league. The takeover made Newcastle’s owners the wealthiest in the Premier League overnight.

Comparisons to the Chinese Super League

In club soccer, European dominance in the player transfer market has been challenged by overseas leagues in the past. The Chinese Super League had a huge spending spree in the late 2010’s that poached a shocking amount of stars from European clubs to play in China. The COVID-19 Pandemic in China took a huge toll on the finances of Chinese Super League clubs, and the spending nosedived. China’s government also reigned in some of the state-affiliated businesses and resources going to the clubs, in an incentive to promote homegrown talent. 

Saudi Arabian Soccer’s Spending Spree

The spending spree of the Saudi Pro League has been larger in scale and longer compared to the short-lived spending blitz of the Chinese Super League. Global soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr in 2022. He signed one of the largest contracts in sports history. The second domino to fall was Karim Benzema, at the time a player who was still playing to the level of his athletic prime, and a world-class goal scorer from France. Neymar, once the poster boy of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, had been one of the most well-known names in the sport for a while. Horrible luck with injuries and roster turnover led him to make a move from French champions Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal. 

This Season’s Storylines

Karim Benzema’s 21 league goals across the 24/25 season led Al-Ittihad to claim the 24/25 Saudi League title. This season, Al-Ittihad has endured a fall-off in form. They are 6th in the league standings, 12 points behind league leaders Al-Hilal, the winningest club in Saudi League history. A bad start for Al-Ittihad has made a move back in the title race unrealistic. 

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr have fallen short of the league title in each season since his signing. This season has been the most competitive yet for Al-Nassr. Throughout most of the season, they have been neck and neck with Al-Hilal in a supremely competitive race to become champions of Saudi Arabia. The last few weeks have been a major collapse for Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.

Al-Nassr Fall Behind in Title Race

The slump started with a 3-2 loss with Al-Ahli, a wound but a recoverable one for Al-Nassr. A 2-1 loss to 5th placed Al-Qadisiyah made it 2 in a row.

There would be a potential lifeline, Al-Nassr played Al-Hilal head to head. It would be a chance to gain 3 points back against their title rivals. None other than Cristiano Ronaldo opened up the scoring with a 42nd minute goal right before halftime. It was an ideal time to take the lead and momentum into the break. In the 57th minute Al-Hilal equalized with a penalty kick. Then late in the game, Saudi national team player Mohamed Kanno came into the game as a substitute and gave Al-Hilal the lead. A 3-1 win now puts Al-Nassr 7 points behind Al-Hilal. This is a seismic gap when you consider Al-Hilal has not lost a single game this season in the league. 

In summary, the league’s growth in the past few seasons has helped grow Saudi Arabia’s reputation as a soccer power. Hosting the 2034 World Cup will be a test as to how much homegrown talent has benefitted from the influx of foreign talent, and the increasing popularity of the league.

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