Highlights

• Highly talented players such as Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, and N'Golo Kante have joined the Saudi Pro League, making it a strong and competitive league.
• The Saudi Pro League All-Star XI consists of top players, including Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, and Ruben Neves.
• While the team has a strong attack and midfield, their defensive options may not be enough to compete in the Premier League, making European qualification challenging.

Neymar’s time at Paris Saint-Germain finally came to an end this month, with the Brazilian leaving France and becoming the latest in a long line of players to take their talents to the Saudi Pro League.

The former Barcelona man spent six years in Ligue 1 with PSG but made the move for monumental money as he joined Al-Hilal. The 31-year-old will team up with the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly, Malcom, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ruben Neves at the side.

This summer has seen some major names join the Saudi Pro League, with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Karim Benzema and Jordan Henderson just a handful of the stars that have made the switch.

Looking at all of the arrivals, and some of the stars who were already playing in Saudi Arabia, we decided to pick our ultimate XI and give our verdict on how they would fare if they were the 21st team in the Premier League.

Assembling the Saudi Pro League all-star XI

GK: Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli)

Mendy was once considered one of the best goalkeepers in Europe, and during the 2020/21 campaign, he was named UEFA Goalkeeper of the Season as Chelsea lifted the Champions League. He would continue to excel between the posts for Thomas Tuchel but found himself sitting on the bench during the 2022/23 campaign after the German coach was sacked. The 31-year-old joined Al-Ahli for a reported fee of £16 million in June.

RB - Jason Denayer (Al-Fateh)

Denayer was on Manchester City’s books at one point but would spend multiple seasons out on loan and did not make an appearance for the senior side. He was sold to Lyon in 2018 and would go on to play 139 times for the French club. Denayer has earned 35 caps with the Belgium national team, but the 28-year-old recently signed for Al-Fateh.

CB - Roger Ibanez (Al-Ahli)

While the majority of the stars heading to the Saudi Pro League are aged veterans who may be past their best, that certainly isn’t the case with Ibanez. The former AS Roma defender is just 24 years old and played a significant role over the last two years for Jose Mourinho’s side. The decision to move to Al-Ahli was a surprising one, but he instantly becomes one of the best defenders in Saudi Arabia and is a no-brainer in this side.

CB - Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal)

Having been one of the Serie A’s best defenders for multiple seasons, Koulibaly would make the switch to Chelsea last summer. But he would struggle to adapt to life in the Premier League, and the Blues would sell him after just one season in English football. Make no mistake though, Koulibaly is still an excellent defender. He featured in the Series A Team of the Year multiple times and helped Napoli lift the Italian Cup during the 2019/20 campaign.

LB - Alex Telles (Al-Nassr)

Telles arrived at United in 2020 and went on to make 50 appearances for the Red Devils. But he was not in Erik ten Hag’s plans and spent last season on loan at Spanish club Sevilla where he won the Europa League. The Brazilian returned to Manchester but has now joined Al-Nassr on a permanent deal.

CM - Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal)

Neves’ move to Al-Hilal came with a fair amount of surprise, especially because of past links to Barcelona. But signing the Portuguese midfielder is a huge coup. He is just 26 years old and has made 41 appearances for the Portugal national team. He is also capable of a spectacular effort every now and then, so Al-Hilal fans will definitely see some special goals next season.

CM - Marcelo Brozovic (Al-Nassr)

Brozovic had spent seven years at Inter, joining permanently from Dinamo Zagreb in 2016 and going on to make 330 appearances for the Serie A side. During his time in Italy, the Croatian would win the Scudetto during the 2020/21 season and would complete two cup doubles in the subsequent seasons. He made the switch to Al-Nassr earlier this month for a reported £15 million, with the 30-year-old signing a three-year deal.

CM - N'Golo Kanté (Al-Ittihad)

Kante established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world after joining Leicester City in 2015 and helping them lift the Premier League trophy. He would cement that legacy when he signed for Chelsea. During his seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge, Kante would make 269 appearances, lifting the Champions League, Premier League and multiple cups too. He was even crowned Premier League Player of the Season during the 2016/17 season. Injuries have limited his game time in recent seasons, which ultimately led to him departing for Al-Ittihad this summer, but on his day, Kante continues to be absolutely phenomenal.

RW - Neymar (Al-Hilal)

After six seasons at PSG, Neymar has made the move to Al-Hilal after apparently being rejected by a number of Premier League teams. The Brazilian was once one of the most exciting talents in football, but a combination of injury issues and playing in the shadow of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi soured his relationship with the French club towards the end of his time in Ligue 1. Make no mistake about it, though, Neymar is still one of the most explosive forwards in the world, and with the move, he has a very strong case as the very best player in the Saudi Pro League now. Don’t be too surprised if he tears defences apart this year and quickly rises up the goalscoring ranks.

LW - Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)

On the opposite flank, we have another one of world football’s biggest stars. Ronaldo made the move to the Al-Nassr after falling out with Erik ten Hag at United. And although his side were not crowned champions last year, Ronaldo still had an impressive campaign, scoring 14 goals in 16 matches. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has previously stated that he believes the division can be one of the best in the world. And with so many talented players joining this summer alone, maybe they are just a few years away...

ST - Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)

This spot could quite easily have been Roberto Firmino’s but we could not leave the Real Madrid icon out. Benzema joined Los Blancos in 2009 and would go on to score 354 goals for the club, helping them win five Champions League trophies and four La Liga titles too. An absolutely absurd resume. The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner ended his 14-year stay at the Bernabeu this summer when his contract expired, with ESPN reporting that he has been offered a two-year deal worth €400 million.

What about the bench?

There were so many players to pick from that not everybody could have made the team, so we have included a substitutes bench as well.

As a backup goalkeeper, we have former Arsenal man David Ospina. The 34-year-old made 70 appearances for the Gunners and joined Al-Nassr in 2022.

Leeds United fans will recognise Ezgjan Alioski. Having left Elland Road in 2021, he now plays for Al-Ahli. He is joined by Merih Demiral, who completed a move from Atalanta to the same team this as Alioski summer.

The middle of the pitch is much more stacked, with former Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic an option off the bench. The Serbian midfielder moved to Al-Hilal earlier this month after eight years in Italy.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson also gets a spot on the bench. The 33-year-old ended his 12-year stay at Anfield this summer and completed a move to Al-Ettifaq.

As backup for the attack, another Liverpool icon also joins Henderson on the bench in Firmino. The new Al-Ahli man spent eight years in the Premier League, and during that time he weighed in with 190 goal contributions. He is joined by his new teammate and former Manchester City winger, Riyad Mahrez. The 32-year-old was an integral part of City teams that have dominated the Premier League in recent years and left following their sensational treble-winning season.

Who’s in charge?

A good team is nothing without a good manager though. We could have gone for Nuno Espirito Santo here, given that he was in charge of an Al-Ittihad side which won the league last season. But instead, we have opted for Al-Hilal’s new manager, Jorge Jesus.

The Portuguese coach led Benfica to three league titles and has also lifted silverware with Sporting and Fenerbahce. He also won the Saudi Super Cup with Al-Hilal when he first managed the club during the 2018/19 season.

Predicting where this team would finish in the Premier League

Now we come to the difficult part though, and although there are some huge names in this squad, we think they are slightly let down by their defensive options.

Koulibaly is an excellent defender, and Ibanez is not a bad option either, but would the other options be able to do a job in the English top-flight now? Arguably not. Mendy would likely be a very busy goalkeeper.

What we can guarantee from this team though is loads of goals, with the attacking trio all lethal when given a chance. And the midfield is pretty good too, with all three starters capable of winning the ball back and playing killer passes forward for the dangerous RNB frontline.

With solid depth on the bench, we think that this all-star team probably has enough to avoid a relegation battle. It would likely finish in the top-half of the table too, but without some defensive improvements, qualifying for European football, especially the Champions League, might be tricky.

With that attack though, you never know...