Transfer plan may look similar on surface but there is a deeper strategy in Riyadh which could shake up existing order
Saudi Arabia is the new China. “The system of buying the players that almost ended their career is not the system that develops football,” said Uefa’s chief executive Aleksander Ceferin recently. “It was a similar mistake in China …”
When Oscar left Chelsea in December 2016 in a transfer window during which Chinese Super League clubs spent more than £300m, then Blues manager Antonio Conte warned of the Chinese danger. Other stars such as Carlos Tevez, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka also moved east. It ended badly with bankruptcies, corruption scandals and no visible improvement in standards.
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