Gary Neville has called for the Premier League to ban transfers to Saudi Arabia until it's confirmed that 'the integrity of the game isn't being damaged'. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante have already secured moves to the Saudi Pro League this summer, with plenty more expected to follow suit.
Lionel Messi was once expected to pen a bumper deal in the Middle East too, but he jetted off to the United States and signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Inter Miami instead. With Saudi Arabian clubs eager to get their hands on some more big names, several Chelsea and Arsenal players have been subject to interest.
Hakim Ziyech, Edouard Mendy and Kalidous Koulibaly are expected to depart Stamford Bridge for around £138.5million, while Thomas Partey has reportedly emerged as a target for Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Al Khaleej. Wolves also look set to cash-in on the Saudi spending spree, with Al Hilal reportedly set to cough up £47million for Ruben Neves.
With the Saudis upsetting apple cart, Neville has demanded that the Premier League take action. In an interview with BBC Sport, the former Manchester United defender said: "The Premier League should put an instant embargo on transfers to Saudi Arabia to ensure the integrity of the game isn't being damaged.
"Checks should be made on the appropriateness of the transactions. If it comes through that process, obviously transfers could open up again. But I do believe, at this moment in time, transfers should be halted until you look into the ownership structure at Chelsea and whether there are beneficial transfer dealings that are improper."
The Public Investment Fund – the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia – has invested in the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital consortium. In an interview with The Athletic, Jordan Gardner – a former managing partner of a group that invested in Danish side FC Helsingor – issued his verdict on the confusion.
"People are reading way too much into the connections between PIF, Clearlake and Boehly," argued Gardner. "PIF is one of many, many investors in the entire portfolio of investments with Clearlake.
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"At this level, there are many close relationships between various private-equity funds, sovereign-wealth funds and high-net-worth individuals. While the optics don’t look great, I’m sure this entirely comes down to existing relationships between these parties and has nothing to do with PIF’s investment in Clearlake. I don’t see any conflict of interest or conspiracy here whatsoever."
