Saudi Arabia's incredible summer window: SPL clubs spent more than £750m
Clubs in Europe breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday night when the Saudi Pro League (SPL) transfer window finally closed.
It will be hard to remember 2023 as anything other than the Saudi summer as a new footballing machine powered onto the scene and signed a whole host of world class and Premier League stars.
The next few years promise to be intriguing as we find out whether this summer was just a one-off or, as is more likely, the Middle East becomes a rival destination for top flight teams across Europe when courting players.
European chiefs continue to insist that the SPL recruitment drive doesn't pose a danger to the continent's footballing landscape, but the league was second only to the Premier League in spending this summer with an outlay of more than £750million.
In some ways, this has provided a rest bite for English clubs when battling FFP considerations, with the SPL almost acting as a 'cash-cow' - as demonstrated by Chelsea selling unwanted stars such as Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy to Saudi clubs for a combined £36m.
Much of the incessant spending was mainly restricted to four teams - Al-Hilal, Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli.
That is because they were all taken over by the country's Public Investment Fund in June - the same backer that also owns Newcastle - and all four have strengthened significantly.
Former Liverpool favourite Sadio Mane joined Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr, while they have also added other stars including Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, former Man United left back Alex Telles, Aymeric Laporte, Otavio and Seko Fofana.
Last year's champions Al-Ittihad - who are coached by ex-Tottenham and Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo - look like the early favourites for the title again having
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