Much has been made of the Saudi Pro League's recent forays into the transfer market. Al Nassr have been at the head of this charge, signing some of Europe's finest players.
Al Nassr have spent big since the start of 2023. Their transfer expenditure exploded from just £5m in summer 2022 to a stunning £141m in summer 2023.
On top of their hefty offers, Al Nassr and other Saudi clubs have spent even bigger on wages, with Cristiano Ronaldo earning £3.6m per week.
Al Nassr most expensive signings: The top 5
| Al Nassr most expensive signings | Joined from | Fee | Goals (Apps) | Honours with club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇵🇹Otávio (CAM) | FC Porto | £51m | 10 (29) | None |
| 🇸🇳Sadio Mané (LW) | Bayern Munich | £25m | 13 (32) | None |
| 🇪🇸Aymeric Laporte (CB) | Manchester City | £23m | 4 (27) | None |
| 🇨🇮Seko Fofana (CM) | RC Lens | £21m | 0 (14) | None |
| 🇭🇷Marcelo Brozovic (CDM) | Inter Milan | £15m | 4 (30) | None |
Remarkably, all of Al Nassr's five most expensive transfers were completed in summer 2023.
1) Otávio- £51m
Topping our list is one of Al-Nassr's Portuguese stars, but not the one you may expect.
Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his huge wages, was actually signed on a free, while his compatriot Otávio was purchased for £51m.
The versatile, Brazilian attacker had a release clause in his FC Porto that Al Nassr activated in summer 2023.
2) Sadio Mané – £25m
Sadio Mané had a year's pit-stop at Bayern Munich on his way from Liverpool to Saudi Arabia, a path also trodden by Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson.
The Senegalese star and AFCON winner has impressed in his new environment, scoring 13 and providing eight assists in his debut campaign.
Despite a fairly cheap fee of £25m, Mané's wages are exorbitant, raking in £650,000 per week.
3) Aymeric Laporte – £23m
Another veteran of the Premier League, Aymeric Laporte was a key part of Manchester City's title-winning machine for over five years.
Often facing off with Mané, Laporte won five Premier League titles of a possible six.
The Spain international and Al Nassr just missed out on the Pro League title to Al-Hilal, but Laporte can console himself with a Euro 2024 winners' medal, showing he has not lost his hunger since moving to Saudi.
4) Seko Fofana – £21m
After a stellar 2022/23 campaign at RC Lens, where he helped the club back into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, Ivorian international Seko Fofana was hot property.
The midfielder was wanted across Europe, but he instead opted to change continents altogether and join Al Nassr.
However, despite winning AFCON 2023, Fofana has not hit the ground running in Saudi Arabia, failing to get regular minutes. He was loaned to Al Ettifaq in January 2024.
5) Marcelo Brozovic – £15m
One of the players keeping Fofana out of the Al Nassr engine room has been Croatian controller Marcelo Brozovic.
The 31-year-old had gradually established himself as one of Europe's finest deep midfielders at Inter Milan, winning Serie A in 2021 and playing a key role in Croatia's superb World Cup 2018 and 2022 performances.
With just a year left on his deal, Al Nassr were able to snag a bargain £15m deal for Brozovic. He has been excellent in Saudi Arabia, scoring four and assisting eight in his debut campaign.
