Premier League GOAT now Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund’s No 1 target after massive Mo Salah verdict

Mo Salah, Kevin de Bruyne linked to Saudi Pro League
The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has now turned their transfer focus away from Liverpool star Mo Salah and will instead make a beeline to sign an elite Manchester City star instead.
PIF, who are also the owners of Newcastle United and also hold a 10% stake in Heathrow Airport and a 5% stake in taxi firm Uber, have total worldwide assets said to be worth a staggering £538billion. And with the Public Investment Fund also looking to put Saudi Arabian football on the map, there has been no expense spared at snaring some of the world’s biggest names to play in the Gulf State.
That trend was started by Cristiano Ronaldo last January, with the Portuguese superstar signing a contract worth a staggering £1.3m a week. And he has since been joined by several huge names, all of whom have jumped on the Saudi Arabia gravy train to secure lucrative paydays.
You can see the 10 highest paid players in the Saudi Pro League right here.
Despite their riches attracting some of the game’s biggest stars, the one name who has evaded their attentions so far is Mo Salah. The Liverpool superstar is seen as an icon of the game, arguably even more so in Saudi where his Muslim routes make him a huge hero for so many in the country.
As a result, attracting him to play in the Saudi Pro-League has been the No 1 goal of PIF for some time now. However, after a £150m approach was rejected by Liverpool last summer, it was claimed a fresh approach – potentially shattering the £198m world-record fee PSG paid for Neymar – would be forthcoming in summer 2024.
READ MORE: Every Prem and world star that joined the Saudi Pro League in 2023: Ronaldo, Neymar, Henderson…
Mo Salah rejects Saudi Arabia as Kevin De Bruyne becomes new priority
With his deal at Anfield due to expire in summer 2025, it’s been predicted that Liverpool could soon have a decision to make over the player were a significant bid to come their way.
To that end, former Reds forward John Aldridge claimed Salah could fetch as much as £250m if top suitors Al-Ittihad come forward with a new proposal over his signing.
However, it has since emerged that Salah will not be lured to the Gulf State and now intends to sign a new deal to keep him at Liverpool for a little while longer. Despite knowing he could transform his £350,000 a week wages into at least five times that amount, it’s claimed that Salah is happy at Anfield and is now closing in on a major new deal to extend his stay.
And while that news will all-but end their chances of signing the Egyptian superstar for now, PIF are reportedly set to move on from that disappointment by making a strong play instead for Kevin de Bruyne.
Like Salah, De Bruyne’s current deal is due to expire in summer 2025 and his club, Manchester City, have a decision to make over his future.
Signed for a bargain £55m in summer 2015, De Bruyne has absolutely sparkled for City, scoring 96 goals and creating 152 more from 358 appearances and winning 13 trophies in the process.
That record has earned him recognition as the Premier League’s GOAT – certainly in the midfield department – and seen as superior to the likes of Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, all of whom also enjoyed glittering careers.
De Bruyne ‘of the mind’ to accept Saudi Arabia move
Now according to journalist Rudy Galetti, a delegation from Saudi’s Public Investment Fund has reached out to De Bruyne’s camp to propose a possible move to the Gulf State some time this year.
It’s now claimed that De Bruyne is the country’s new No 1 target in the wake of their Salah snub and, much like Salah, they will stop at nothing to land their man.
Unlike Salah, however, it’s reported that the Belgian midfielder is ‘open’ to evaluating a possible move with a decision to be made on his future after the season ends.
City, for their part, would demand top price for De Bruyne – possibly as much as £100m – with the money to be reinvested into their squad on a replacement. To that end, Pep Guardiola’s side have been strongly linked with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz as a €100m successor.
The Cityzens also sold winger Riyad Mahrez and defender Aymeric Laporte to Saudi clubs last summer, bringing in Jeremy Doku and Josko Gvardiol as their quality replacements.
As a result, it would come as no shock were De Bruyne be the next to be allowed to leave.