Messi, Mbappe and Dembele rejected billions in Saudi Pro League contracts

The Saudi Pro League has attracted some star players in recent years, none bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been with Al-Nassr since 2023.

The Portugal icon signed a new two-year Al-Nassr deal in 2025 which sees him earn a staggering £488,000-per-day in Saudi Arabia.

The finances on offer have seen plenty of world-class footballers swap Europe for Saudi Arabia. However, others have also said no to heading to the Middle East.

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Players who have turned down Saudi Arabia moves

1

Lionel Messi

Back in 2023, Lionel Messi decided to leave Paris Saint-Germain and was wanted by Al-Hilal.

The Argentine, fresh off the back of a World Cup triumph in Qatar, was offered a three-year contract worth £1.3bn, where he would earn €500 million per season to make him the richest footballer in history.

However, Messi, considered the greatest of all time by many, snubbed the advances of the Saudi Pro League and instead made the move to the MLS with Inter Miami.

2

Bruno Fernandes

In 2025, Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was also wanted by Al-Hilal, two years after they moved for Messi.

The attacking midfielder was offered £700,000-a-week plus bonuses, treble his Old Trafford wage, whereas the Red Devils were also in line to bring in £100m in a transfer fee.

However, Fernandes wanted to play at the ‘top level in Europe’, so snubbed the Saudi interest.

3

Romelu Lukaku

A running theme with Al-Hilal missing out on European targets saw Romelu Lukaku snub them ahead of the 2023/2024 campaign.

At the time, the Belgium striker was still under contract at Chelsea after a loan spell with Inter Milan and was the subject of a £50m per season proposal.

He turned the Saudi Pro League down, though, counting his career in Italy with AS Roma and Napoli.

4

Kylian Mbappe

In what would have been the most expensive signing in football history, Kylian Mbappe was the subject of interest from Al-Hilal in 2023, and they even reportedly agreed a €300m transfer fee with Paris Saint-Germain.

Mbappe was even offered a one-year deal worth €700m where he could of then sealed his dream move to Real Madrid. The French superstar did get his move to the Bernabeu, however, he stayed in Paris instead of heading to the Saudi Pro League for 12 months.

5

Son Heung-Min

Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-Min has become a Spurs legend since moving to north London back in 2015, and he turned down the chance to join Al-Ittihad in 2023.

The South Korean said that ‘money doesn’t matter’ when linked with a move to Al-Ittihad, who were willing to pay Tottenham more than £50m at the time. In the end, they brought in former Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

6

Ousmane Dembele

Ronaldo and Ousmane Dembele is a partnership that could have been for Al-Nassr, with the Saudi side targeting the France star when he was still on the books of Barcelona.

Al-Nassr were even willing to pay Dembele £35m per season for five years, however, he ended up turning them down to move to Paris Saint-Germain.

7

Jamie Vardy

Jamie Vardy has 13 hugely successful years at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes legend won the Premier League and FA Cup with Leicester, but back in 2023, turned down an approach from Al-Khaleej.

It is unknown just how much Al-Khaleej were willing to offer the striker, who ended up staying with the Foxes for two more years before leaving in 2025.

8

Luka Modric

Iconic Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric was wanted by Al-Hilal in 2023 and was even offered a mammoth €200m deal over three years to head to the Middle East.

The Croatian decided against leaving Europe, though, instead spending two more years at the Bernabeu before heading to Italy with AC Milan.

9

Sergio Busquets

Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets came up against Ronaldo plenty of times in Spain, and the pair could have been teammates for Al-Nassr in 2023.

The holding midfielder was the subject of a €20m per season offer from the Saudi side, however, Busquets ended up snubbing the prospect of playing alongside Ronaldo to reunite with Messi at Inter Miami.

10

Bernardo Silva

Manchester City star Bernardo Silva has been a Saudi Pro League target for a number of years, and in 2023, was offered a deal three times more than his Etihad contract to head to the Middle East.

Al-Hilal were willing to pay the Portuguese midfielder £500,000-a-week, however, he remained in England under Pep Guardiola.