The league does not yet supply talent to Europe or anywhere else. Of the 26-man World Cup squad only the right-back, Saud\u00a0Abdulhamid<\/a>, of Lens,<\/a> plays overseas. The consensus is that this\u00a0has to change and is heightened by the worry that too many of those who stay home do not play enough. Locals are often squeezed out by foreign talents, especially when it comes to creative, goalscoring and goalkeeping positions.<\/p>\n The big spending has undoubtedly improved the standard of teams in general \u2013 Saudi sides have had increased success in Asian club competitions, but the national side has yet to see the\u00a0benefit.<\/p>\n While many expected Salah to choose the Red Sea over the Black Sea port of Trabzonspor<\/a>, the determination to sign the Egyptian seemed to have lessened over the past few months (and that is assuming Salah ever considered Saudi Arabia as his first\u00a0choice).<\/p>\n The biggest name in the Arab footballing world would have been quite a draw, even if the 34-year-old no longer fits the preferred model, which is trying to sign younger players who have\u00a0a\u00a0resale value when they return to Europe.<\/p>\n Will that be the case for Crysencio Summerville, the biggest signing of the summer so far, who joined Al-Hilal for around \u20ac80m? If all goes well, the 24-year-old Netherlands winger can spend some time in Riyadh and, one day, head back to Europe for another hefty fee.<\/p>\n There have been the usual criticisms of Summerville choosing money over ambition, but ambition is part of the Hilal DNA. With 19 league titles and four Asian championships, coming second again will not be acceptable even if the team were undefeated through the whole campaign.<\/p>\n The Blues, sold by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) in April, still have Karim Benzema, R\u00faben Neves, Theo Hern\u00e1ndez, Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly and more, so the pressure is on the head coach, Simone Inzaghi, to retake the title from the yellow half of\u00a0Riyadh.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a>Free newsletter | Every weekday<\/p>\n Sign up to Football Daily<\/p>\n Kick off your evenings with the Guardian’s take on the world of football<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Saud Abdulhamid is the only player from Saudi Arabia to play overseas, with Lens. Photograph: Icon Sport\/Alamy<\/p>\n Ronaldo lifted that trophy in May for Al\u2011Nassr<\/a>, a triumph soon followed by the exit of Jorge\u00a0Jesus to take over as the Portugal head coach. He has been replaced by Ange Postecoglou<\/a>. The former Tottenham manager has Sadio Man\u00e9, Kingsley Coman and Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix at his disposal, but the club have financial problems that have meant, as yet, there have not been many incomings. A first Asian Champions League title would go down well.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1782314652_139_500.jpg\")
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