Saudi Pro League: Brief History, Main Teams and Star Players
A Short History of the Saudi Pro League - Teams, Stars and Market Stats
The Saudi Pro League (SPL) has transformed in the last few seasons from a strong regional competition into one of world football’s most talked-about leagues.
But where did the league start - and where is it going? Here's everything you need to know.
Neymar joined Al Hilal in August 2023. Image credits: Reuters
The Saudi top flight now has 18 clubs and operates under a league strategy aligned to Vision 2030, with a push for elite sporting standards, commercial growth and youth development.
In 2023, the government launched a club-privatisation drive. It restructured ownership at four flagship teams, a shift that coincided with record transfer spending, widespread broadcast distribution and a surge of global stars.
The result is a league with deep local roots on an international stage, as measured by spending, audiences and player performance.
A Short History of the Saudi Pro League
Saudi league football dates to the mid-20th century, but the current professional era accelerated with recent reforms. In June 2023, the Saudi Ministry of Sport unveiled the Sports Clubs Investment and Privatisation Project.
This converted major clubs into companies and transferred majority stakes in Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli to the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The policy goal was to clear debt, grow value and position clubs for full privatisation under Vision 2030.
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Summer 2023 produced a record market: $957 million gross outlay and $907 million net spend as SPL teams signed 94 overseas players, including 37 from Europe’s top five leagues.
From 2024, the league signalled a second-phase strategy: financial governance, smaller senior squads and two under-21 international slots to push development and sustainability. The SPL also expanded distribution, with games available in over 180 countries.
Top Teams in the Saudi Pro League and What Defines Them
The league’s identity is shaped by a core group of heavyweight clubs with huge trophy records, large fan bases and deep resources.
Their recent headline signings and rising match attendances show how history, star power and investment now combine to set the pace in Saudi football.
Al Hilal (Riyadh)
Al Hilal is Saudi Arabia’s most decorated club, and the SPL’s standard bearer. The club currently has a record 21 league titles.
In May 2024, Hilal also clinched the league with three matches to spare in an unbeaten run led by Aleksandar Mitrović and Sergej Milinković-Savić.
Matchday scale is elite: in 2023–24, Al Hilal drew 371,012 total home spectators (avg 21,824). The club ranked second in the league that season.
Al Nassr (Riyadh)
Al Nassr has been a serial title winner and globalised brand since Cristiano Ronaldo arrived in 2023. Ronaldo set a new SPL single-season scoring record with 35 goals in 2023–24, topping the official stat tables that year.
Attendance data for Al Nassr matches shows 302,965 home spectators (avg 17,821) in 2023–24.
Al Ittihad (Jeddah)
Historic powerhouse and 2022–23 champions, Al Ittihad reinforced their dominance with signings like Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté in June 2023.
The club’s trophy cabinet includes 14 national league titles and two AFC Champions League crowns, per recognised records. In 2023–24, they drew 305,495 home fans (avg 17,970) in the league.
Al Ahli (Jeddah)
Al Ahli is one of the country’s traditional giants! As of 2025, the club is officially credited with 53 titles, including nine league championships, following the Saudi Football History Documentation Committee’s decision.
The club’s modern era has featured high-profile arrivals such as Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Édouard Mendy, and culminated in the 2024–25 Asian Champions League Elite title.
Al Shabab (Riyadh)
Al Shabab has had a consistent top-flight presence since the 1940s, with a well-known youth pipeline.
The club was founded in 1947, and it has a stadium capacity of 13,537. This reflects the institutional depth that predates the league’s current investment era.
Other notable Saudi Pro League clubs
Al Taawoun and Al Fateh have also been steady top-division mainstays. The league has added some new faces in its expansion to 18 teams from 2023–24.
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Star Players and Signature Moves
The Saudi Pro League’s global profile is driven by marquee arrivals who deliver on the pitch and move the needle off it. From record goal tallies to high-impact transfers, these signatures turned curiosity into weekly attention and set new performance benchmarks across the SPL.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
He was the catalyst for the league’s global surge. Ronaldo’s 35 league goals in 31 matches in 2023–24 set a new competition record and topped the scoring charts.
Broader coverage has tallied his cumulative club goals since moving to Saudi Arabia, but the SPL record stat is the most relevant performance marker.
Neymar (joined Al Hilal, Aug 2023)
Al Hilal agreed to a €90 million transfer with PSG in August 2023 for Neymar. This was one of the headline deals of that window.
Injuries limited Neymar’s minutes and, in early 2025, he left the club by mutual consent, but the acquisition cost and commercial impact successfully framed the league’s transfer ambitions.
Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté (Al Ittihad, June 2023)
Benzema signed after leaving Real Madrid, with Reuters confirming the deal on 6 June 2023. Kanté completed his move on 20 June 2023. These were landmark arrivals for the Jeddah club and underlined the SPL’s ability to recruit recent Champions League and World Cup winners.
Aleksandar Mitrović (Al Hilal)
Mitrović’s prolific first season helped power Hilal’s 2023–24 title, part of a front line that also included Malcom and creator Rúben Neves. Hilal’s domestic sweep continued with the Saudi Super Cup in August 2024 against Al Nassr.
Riyad Mahrez and Roberto Firmino (Al Ahli)
Mahrez and Firmino were integral pieces in Al Ahli’s rebuild and continental push, which culminated in the 2024–25 Asian Champions League Elite triumph. This was the club’s first Asian title, over Kawasaki Frontale.
Sadio Mané, Marcelo Brozović, Fabinho, Kalidou Koulibaly and Sergej Milinković-Savić
This group represented a cross-section of peak-age and veteran internationals who lifted quality across multiple positions. They all arrived during and after the $957 million 2023 window.
The league later pivoted to a sustainability phase to incentivise younger signings and homegrown development.
Money, Reach and Matchday Context
The 2023 window reshaped global flows. $957 million gross spend and $907 million net positioned the SPL second only to the Premier League by net outlay.
Broadcast distribution widened quickly; the league says that matches are now carried in over 180 countries. This achieves the goal of international visibility, alongside integral domestic growth.
Crowds are trending upward in big markets. In 2023–24, the top four clubs by total home attendance were Al Ahli (414,282), Al Hilal (371,012), Al Ittihad (305,495) and Al Nassr (302,965), with each club averaging 17,800–24,400 per league home match.
On the field, individual performance metrics have kept the league in headlines. Ronaldo’s 35 league goals led the 2023–24 scoring table, but Mitrović was close behind on 28.
The league’s footprint is reflected in its valuations and squad composition. At the start of 2025-6, the league had a €1.14 billion total market value and 37.5% foreign players. This signals an internationalised roster build and an impressive level of growth for a relatively new global league.
The Rise of the Saudi Pro League - Key Takeaways
The Saudi Pro League’s story is now two chapters. The first is acceleration: privatisation, record transfer spend, superstar arrivals and global reach. The second is consolidation: governance rules, age-profile tweaks and development incentives intended to make success durable.
The core competitive picture is familiar to long-time followers. Clubs like Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli continue to anchor the title race, but the league around them is broader, richer in talent and far more visible than it was even three years ago.
With 21 domestic titles, Al Hilal remains the benchmark, and Ronaldo’s scoring record symbolises the league’s star power. That $957 million 2023 window still stands as the inflexion point that reintroduced Saudi football to a global audience!
