No more spending! Saudis hit by FIFA transfer ban

Tom Weber

• Updated: 12 Jul 2023 11:57 BST
• 3 min read

Saudi club Al-Nassr have been banned from registering new players by FIFA.

This ruling comes after it was revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo's club failed to pay Leicester City performance-related bonuses achieved by former Foxes striker Ahmed Musa.

Musa, currently under contract at Turkish side Sivasspor, joined Al-Nassr in 2018 for €15 million. The 30-year-old scored 11 times across 60 games and helped the club win the Saudi Pro League and the domestic Super Cup.

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The Saudi side still owe Leicester €460,000 in add-ons achieved by Musa. FIFA had warned Al-Nassr in October 2021 that they would be hit with a transfer ban should they fail to pay the arrears, a punishment that has now been meted out by football's governing body, according to journalist Ben Jacobs as well as The Mirror.

Beyond the lavish spending

Indeed, Saudi clubs failing to properly remunerate players and clubs isn't a new development. On the contrary, contract breaches are a common occurrence in the Gulf State and the issue has repeatedly been raised in light of the Pro League's transfer offensive that started, incidentally, when Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr.

As reported by The Athletic, former Nottingham Forest striker Lewis Grabban was left chasing his wages after being released by Al-Ahli. The Saudi side had to pay $500,000 in owed wages and a further $700,000 in compensation.

The report goes on to say that FIFA's Dispute Resolution Chamber has dealt with over 50 labour disputes involving Saudi clubs over the past year.

Like Al-Ahli, who have been the culprits behind four disputes in the last 18 months, Al-Nassr are repeat offenders. Last November, they had to pay former player Petros $2.5m after unlawfully terminating his contract.

MORE: Saudi Pro League summer transfers 2023: All the Done Deals

In fact, the players' union FIFPRO exhorted players not to join Pro league clubs last summer, but this has done little to stop the wave of high-profile stars being lured to Saudi Arabia by the promise of huge wages.

Until recently, Al-Nassr were in negotiations with Chelsea's Hakim Ziyech, but the player ultimately rejected the move due to the club reneging on their initial contract promises after he failed his medical.