"FIFA must find a solution"
From England to Saudi Arabia: When do the different summer transfer windows close?
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Deadline Day is just around the corner and on September 1 the summer transfer window closes in most major European leagues, but not yet in Saudi Arabia, the country that has spent the second most money worldwide. While Germany (6 pm CET), Italy (8 pm CET), France (11 pm CET), Spain (0 am CET) and England (0 am CET) will close on September 1, some leagues, including Turkey and Belgium, will still be able to sign players for weeks.
Transfermarkt provides an overview of all transfer windows around the world, and looking at the stats, it is noticeable that in the “open until” column, many countries end their transfer periods before or after September 1. This presents difficulties for some clubs. “Pretty much the worst thing I think is that the transfer window in Saudi Arabia is open three weeks longer,” Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp said at the beginning of August. The clubs in the Saudi Pro League can sign new players until September 20.
Six months ago, this bothered few club officials in Europe – some €850 million in transfer fees and contracts worth billions later, this date could become a bigger problem. “UEFA or FIFA must find a solution for this,” Klopp said in an interview with German TV channel Sport1. The fact that the Turkish Süper Lig has been using a similar deadline for several years was and is not a problem. This is not about an Istanbul club snatching away a Premier League or La Liga club’s star player but rather about presenting a way out to players who are willing to move on and for whom a transfer to a top league has not worked out.
The list of stars is growing - Top transfers for the Saudi Pro League in 2023
Moussa Dembélé | Lyon -> Al-Ettifaq | Market value: €12m
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Free transfer
Last updated: August 28, 2023
Jordan Henderson | Liverpool -> Al-Ettifaq | Fee: €14m
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Market value: €10m
N'Golo Kanté | Chelsea -> Ittihad Club | Market value: €15m
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Free transfer
Roberto Firmino | Liverpool -> Al-Ahli | Market value: €18m
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Free transfer
Habib Diallo | Strasbourg -> Al-Shabab | Fee: €18m
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Market value: €18m
Edouard Mendy | Chelsea -> Al-Ahli | Fee: €18.5m
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Market value: €12m
Merih Demiral | Atalanta -> Al-Ahli | Fee: €20m
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Market value: €20m
Cristiano Ronaldo | Without club -> Al-Nassr | Market value: €20m
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Free transfer
Bono | Sevilla -> Al-Hilal | Market value: €20m
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Market value: €12m
Kalidou Koulibaly | Chelsea -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €23m
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Market value: €15m
Karim Benzema | Real Madrid -> Ittihad Club | Market value: €25m
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Free transfer
Franck Kessié | Barcelona -> Al-Ahli SFC | Market value: €25m
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Fee: €12.5m
Marcelo Brozovic | Inter -> Al-Nassr | Market value: €25m
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Fee: €18m
Aymeric Laporte | Man City -> Al-Nassr | Fee: €27.5m
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Market value: €25m
Jota | Celtic -> Ittihad Club | Fee: €29.1m
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Market value: €25m
Roger Ibañez | Roma -> Al-Ahli | Market value: €30m
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Fee: €28.5m
Sadio Mané | Bayern -> Al-Nassr | Fee: €30m
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Market value: €25m
Seko Fofana | RC Lens -> Al-Nassr | Market value: €32m
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Fee: €19m
Allan Saint-Maximin | Newcastle -> Al-Ahli | Market value: €32m
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Fee: €27.2m
Riyad Mahrez | Man City -> Al-Ahli | Fee: €35m
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Market value: €20m
Gabri Veiga | Celta de Vigo -> Al-Ahli | Fee: €40m
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Market value: €30m
Fabinho | Liverpool -> Ittihad Club | Fee: €46.7m
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Market value: €42m
Sergej Milinković-Savić | Lazio -> Al-Hilal | Market value: €50m
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Fee: €40m
Aleksandar Mitrovic | Fulham -> Al-Hilal | Market value: €28m
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Fee: €52.6m
Rúben Neves | Wolves -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €55m
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Market value: €40m
Malcom | Zenit -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €30m
Otávio | Porto -> Al-Nassr | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €35m
Neymar | PSG -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €80
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Market value: €60m
Two good examples of this in the summer of 2022 were Miralem Pjanic, who moved from Barcelona to Besiktas on loan, and Mauro Icardi, who Galatasaray signed on loan from PSG – both transfers went through after Deadline Day in Europe’s major leagues. While the Süper Lig transfer window is open until September 15 this summer, it is possible for footballers to move to Belgium until September 6. Although not confirmed by officials, it should be clear that thanks to the longer transfer period, these leagues are hoping to sign new players that they would otherwise only get on different terms or not at all.
The Saudi Pro League, in turn, could become a threat to any club that has a big-name player in its ranks. “When Hendo and Fabinho sat in my office and talked to me about it, I knew when I learned more about the modalities that we have practically no chance to to do anything against it,” Klopp said. For footballers who are currently not under contract with a club, the summer transfer deadlines do not matter – they can still move to the Premier League and other competitions after September 1, up to and including January.
Neymar, Rice & Co.: The most expensive summer transfers in 2023
Cole Palmer | Man City -> Chelsea | Fee: €47m
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Market value: €18m
Matheus Cunha | Atlético -> Wolves | Fee: €50m
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Market value: €25m (obligation to buy)
Ousmane Dembélé | Barcelona -> PSG | Fee: €50m
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Market value: €60m
Min-jae Kim | Napoli -> Bayern Munich | Fee: €50m
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Market value: €60m
André Onana | Inter -> Man United | Fee: €52.5m
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Market value: €35m
Aleksandar Mitrovic | Fulham -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €52.6m
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Market value: €28m
Brennan Johnson | Nottingham Forest -> Man City | Fee: €55m
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Market value: €38m
Rúben Neves | Wolves -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €55m
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Market value: €40m
Moussa Diaby | Bayer Leverkusen -> Aston Villa | Fee: €55m
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Market value: €50m
Jérémy Doku | Rennes -> Man City | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €28m
Malcom | Zenit -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €30m
Otávio | Porto -> Al-Nassr | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €35m
Manuel Ugarte | Sporting -> PSG | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €50m
Christopher Nkunku | RB Leipzig -> Chelsea | Fee: €60m
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Market value: €80m
Matheus Nunes | Wolves -> Man City | Fee: €62m
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Market value: €45m
Roméo Lavia | Southampton -> Chelsea | Fee: €62.1m
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Market value: €32m
Sandro Tonali | AC Milan -> Newcastle | Fee: €64m
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Market value: €50m
Mason Mount | Chelsea -> Man United | Fee: €64.2m
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Market value: €60m
Dominik Szoboszlai | RB Leipzig -> Liverpool | Fee: €70m
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Market value: €50m
Rasmus Højlund | Atalanta -> Man United | Fee: €75m
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Market value: €45m
Kai Havertz | Chelsea -> Arsenal | Fee: €75m
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Market value: €55m
Neymar | PSG -> Al-Hilal | Fee: €90m
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Market value: €60m
Josko Gvardiol | RB Leipzig -> Man City | Fee: €90m
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Market value: €75m
Randal Kolo Muani | Frankfurt -> PSG | Fee: €95m
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Market value: €80m
Harry Kane | Tottenham -> Bayern | Fee: €100m
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Market value: €90m
Jude Bellingham | Borussia Dortmund -> Real Madrid | Fee: €103m
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Market value: €120m
Moisés Caicedo | Brighton -> Chelsea | Fee: €116m
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Market value: €75m
Declan Rice | West Ham -> Arsenal | Fee: €116.6m
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Market value: €90m