Where's the end of the oil money? Saudi League considers revamping rules to allow 10 foreign players to be retained
Jul 18, 2025
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Khalid al-Shennaif, a Saudi soccer reporter and TV show host, said on his SNS on the 18th (Korea time) that the current mandatory holding of eight non-Asian foreigners and two foreign players under the age of 23 will be changed to a maximum of 10 without an age limit.
The Saudi League previously allowed a maximum of seven foreign players. However, the quota was increased to eight as competition for European stars began with Cristiano Ronaldo. Starting from the 2024-2025 season, eight foreign players under the age of 23 have been allowed. Starting from the new season, the team will be allowed to have 10 players per team without an age limit. Up to eight people can be on the starting list for the game, and two can be replaced.
The promotion of NeomSC seems to play an important role in this regulatory change. Neom is the name of a new city project under construction by the Saudi government as part of its vision 2030 policy, and the Neom Company is supporting the club. After being promoted from the second division last season, he is seeking to remain in the first division by recruiting European stars like Al Khadshiya, who ranked fourth by recruiting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nacho Fernandez. He has already taken his first step by recruiting Alexandre Lacazette.
The Saudi league, which has grown rapidly with oil money since the 2020s, has now grown to the point where it threatens European soccer. Every year, European stars are brought in with astronomical amounts of money in each transfer market. Currently, Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, John Duran (Al-Nasr), Kareem Benzema, N'Golo Kante (Al-Itihad), Riyad Mahrez, Edouard Mendy, Alang Saint-Maximin, Roberto Firmino, Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Hoobeng Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Yasin Bunu, João Cancelo, Theo Hernandez, Aleksandar Mitrovic (Al-Hilal), Jorginio Wijnaldum, Musa Dembele (Altipark), Yannick Carrasco and Giacomo Bonaventura (Al Shabab) are active in Saudi Arabia. In the round of 16 at the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025, which recently ended, Al Hilal shocked the world of soccer by making an extraordinary win over Manchester City.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
