Michael Emenalo interview: Saudi Pro League chief discusses Jordan Henderson, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah and sportswashing concerns
Saudi Arabia dominated the transfer window headlines over the summer, spending over £700m on some of the world's best players; Sky Sports News spoke to Saudi Pro League director of football Michael Emenalo in a TV exclusive on the progress and aims of the league...
Sky Sports News Chief Reporter
Friday 8 September 2023 17:39, UK
Saudi Arabia has dominated the transfer window just gone — but the two main questions are: how did this happen and what happens now?
In a transfer window that saw all-time spending across the world, Saudi Pro League clubs came out of nowhere to spend £701.3m, ranking second in the world for national spending behind England's Premier League.
Helping to lead the Saudi Pro League project is former Chelsea chief Michael Emenalo, who spent six years at Stamford Bridge between 2011 and 2017 and helped bring in players such as Mohamed Salah, Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante to the club.
Now the former Chelsea sporting director is tasked with centralising the Saudi Pro League's recruitment and continuing to bring the world's best players to the country.
In a TV exclusive interview with Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol in London, Emenalo discussed:
Take a look below to see a full transcript:
Kaveh Solhekol: The Saudi Pro League transfer window has just closed. How do you look back because you have made a lot of headlines in the football world for the last two or three months?
Which players moved to Saudi Arabia?
How much did Saudi Arabia spend this year?
Transfer Centre LIVE!
Papers — latest headlines
Michael Emenalo: We are hoping that we have made positive headlines. We look back with great satisfaction that we have put the league in a better place than it was previously.
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