A former Premier League chief believes players may think twice about moving to Saudi Arabia due to war in Iran.
The Saudi Pro League has signed stars from across the world in recent seasons and its clubs have long coveted Mohamed Salah, who will leave Liverpool at the end of the season.
Yet Christian Purslow, who was CEO at Liverpool and Aston Villa and head of global commercial activities at Chelsea, has warned that the conflict in the Middle East has the potential to change the mindset of some players, who might previously have been attracted by the Pro League.
Iran has attacked energy infrastructure in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Israel. Saudi Arabia and Iran lie on opposite sides of the Persian Gulf.
Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry said six ballistic missiles were launched towards the area of capital city Riyadh on Friday. It said two had been intercepted and four others fell in the Gulf and uninhabited areas.
Mohamed Salah has announced his decision to leave Liverpool this summer – after
Speaking on the Football Boardroom podcast, Purslow said: ‘We are in the middle of a war and that could be a relevant factor. When you are a wealthy footballer, you can choose where you want to live and have your family live for the next two or three years.
‘I suspect a move to Saudi is more complicated than it was before this year. It looks a bit more of a dangerous place. Players think hugely about their families and factors beyond the pure football.
‘[On a separate point], it’s been obvious for some time that the era of Saudi clubs buying players over 30 for big transfer fees is behind us. They were bailing out a number of clubs in Europe, particularly in the Premier League, by doing these deals.’
Salah’s long-serving agent, Ramy Abbas, said in a statement that no one knows where the forward will play next year.
He is currently injured and sitting out Egypt’s upcoming international camp and no advanced talks have taken place yet out of respect for Liverpool.
