Romano gives ‘HUGE’ transfer ‘here we go’ for summer's MOST IMPORTANT deal

Robin Bairner

Updated: 26 Aug 2023 07:47 BST
4 min read

Fabrizio Romano's latest transfer news — © ProShots

Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga has disappointed a string of major European clubs by completing a move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, Fabrizio Romano has announced.

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The 21-year-old was thought to be close to moving to Real Madrid earlier this summer and has also been associated with a move to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona and Liverpool this summer, so impressive was his breakthrough campaign with Celta in 2022/23.

Transfer expert Romano, though, says that the documents have been signed to take Veiga to the Saudi Pro League club in what may just be the most important deal of the summer.

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Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Romano stated: “Gabri Veiga has just signed the contract and he’s a new Al-Ahli player - done deal, here we go confirmed.

“Medical completed tonight, documents signed at 2am CET. Gabri Veiga leaves Celta Vigo and joins Al-Ahli as they complete one more huge move.

“Signed, sealed.”

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Why Gabri Veiga to Al-Ahli matters

Although the Saudi Pro League has wowed Europe with its pulling power for aging starts such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Fabinho and more, it had not previously completed a deal for a player in their prime or an up-and-coming talent.

Al-Hilal tried to strike a world-record deal with Kylian Mbappe during the height of his war with PSG while there were also overtures for Moussa Diaby, who ultimately chose to move to Aston Villa.

Gabri Veiga’s decision, though, is the first time that a player has actively picked the Saudi Pro League over European giants.

When the deal became evident, it was greeted with an emphatic response from Real Madrid, with Toni Kroos branding the player “embarrassing” for making the transfer on social media.

Is the Veiga deal the start of a trend or just an outlier? Time will tell but it emphatically shows the pulling power that the Saudi Pro League can have.