Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has made an interesting prediction about Qatar potentially competing with Saudi Arabia for major signings after the deal for Marco Verratti to leave Paris Saint-Germain for Al Arabi this summer.
The Italian midfielder has had a fine career in Europe with PSG, but made the slightly surprising move away from the Parc des Princes this summer, moving to Qatar, despite the big splash made in the market by Saudi Pro League clubs.
Could this be the start of the 2022 World Cup hosts trying something similar to what Saudi clubs have done? For now, it seems Romano isn’t convinced that their project is of quite the same scale as the one being backed by the Saudi government.
Verratti is undoubtedly a big-name signing for Al Arabi, but we’re not necessarily going to see quite as many top players moving there, whereas the Saudi project could yet see more world class figures moving in the near future.
? EXCLUSIVE ?
"The idea when they presented Cristiano Ronaldo as the face of the Saudi project was very clear" ??@FabrizioRomano tells @CaughtOffside how the Saudis' ambitious transfers took him by surprise and about Ronaldo's crucial role ??
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— CaughtOffside (@caughtoffside) September 12, 2023
“A big statement signing for Al Arabi as Marco Verratti has joined from Paris Saint-Germain for €45m, but what next for clubs in Qatar? They want to be ambitious in Qatar for sure but in Saudi it is a completely different project, it involves the Government and their plan for the future,” Romano said.
“So for now I would not not compare Qatar to Saudi in terms of what they can do in the transfer market.”