Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t feature in the 10 most valuable players in the Saudi Pro League

The Saudi Pro League is now home to some of the biggest stars in football and plenty of familiar faces make up the league’s 10 most valuable players.

Surprisingly, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Riyad Mahrez don’t make the list as their market value has started to dwindle due to their advancing age.

Using figures from Transfer marketwe have ranked the 10 most valuable players in the Saudi Pro League in 2023-24.

Following an underwhelming stint with Bayern Munich, Mane made the switch to Al-Nassr in the summer. He now ranks as one of the club’s most valuable player as he is deemed to be worth more than Ronaldo, Talisca and Aymeric Laporte.

The Senegalese winger will always hold a special place in the hearts of Liverpool fans and it’s no surprise to see him smashing it in his new surroundings.

Mitrovic forced a move through to Al Hilal in the summer as the lucrative money on offer from the Saudi club was deemed to be life-changing. He’s currently averaging a goal involvement every 74 minutes and is seemingly loving life at his new club.

“I moved here from one of the best [leagues, the] Premier League and I think this, this league has all the things, in the future, in the next few years to become one of the best leagues in the world,” Mitrovic told Euro News.

The Saudi Pro League is home to plenty of Brazil internationals and Ibanez made the switch in the summer. The former Roma defender now plays for Al-Ahli and holds a market value of £24.48million.

Al Hilal splashed a reported fee of £52.5million on Malcom, but Transfermarkt reckons he is only worth around half of that. The former Barcelona winger had spent his last few years playing in Russia before making to switch to Saudi Arabia in July.

He has proven his worth so far by scoring six goals and providing four assists in his first 13 matches. Al Hilal currently boast a four-point lead at the top of the table and Malcom will be vital to their title hopes.

The majority of players who recently moved to Saudi Arabia are in the latter stages of their careers, but that doesn’t apply to Veiga. The 21-year-old had admirers from across Europe but instead decided to move to Al-Ahli.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos was among the stars to criticise Veiga for making the move, but the upcoming Spanish midfielder was quick to defend his decision.

“I understand that everyone has their opinion, but there were other decisions that tipped the balance,” Veiga told reporters. “Among all the options, I think it was the one that allowed me to continue growing as a footballer and mature in a league that is growing a lot.”

Al-Nassr spent a record fee to prize Otavio away from Porto in the summer. The Saudi outfit spent a reported £52.5million on the playmaker which is slightly more than the £30.6million he is deemed to be worth.

The Brazilian midfielder won every trophy on offer while at Liverpool and he made the switch to Al-Ittihad to link up with the likes of Benzema and N’Golo Kante in the summer.

The 30-year-old is deemed to be Al-Ittihad’s most valuable player with a market value of £33.22million which is slightly less than the £40million they paid Liverpool to secure his services.

Despite only recently moving to Al Hilal, Neves is already being linked with a return to the Premier League. Newcastle are said to be keen on the midfielder, although Premier League clubs could vote to block loan moves into England’s top flight between associated clubs.

The former Wolves midfielder is seemingly at the peak of his powers right now and we can’t help but feel like he’s a bit wasted playing in Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career. Time will tell if he does make a Premier League return in January.

Al Hilal got a decent deal on Milinkovic-Savic as they paid a fee of around £34.97million to secure his services. The 28-year-old has looked like a commanding presence in midfield with four goal contributions in his first 10 matches.

Were you expecting anyone else? It’s a shame we won’t get to see much of the Brazilian star for the foreseeable future as he continues to recover from a nasty ACL injury that he sustained while on international duty.

There can be little doubt that Neymar ranks among the best players of his generation, but we can’t help but be a little gutted with how his career seems to have faded out of late. Fingers crossed he comes back from injury stronger than ever.