Al-Ittihad Transfer News, Analysis and Overview- 2024
Ittihad, the oldest surviving sports club in Saudi Arabia is a regular in the Saudi Professional League. Founded in 1927 in the industrial city of Jeddah, the club has been the love child of the middle and working class. With the club receiving unequivocal support from the crowd of the city, it translated into success as well. The club has won 50 league titles and 35 of them are recognized officially.
They were part of the top flight right from their inception. This was much before the Saudi Pro League took shape in the 1950s. As the Pro League kickstarted, Ittihad were one of the founding members of it.
Ittihad only saw their first league success in 1982 and hasn’t looked back since then. They had their golden period in the 1990s. They sealed a domestic cup treble in 1997 as they amassed 3 domestic league titles in 10 years.
Dubbed “The Miracle”, Ittihad overturned a 1-3 deficit into a 5-0 victory against Seongnam to lift their first-ever Asian Champions League title in 2004. They went on to taste Asian glory twice more.
With incredible success and rivalries with Al-Ahli and Al Hilal, Ittihad grew as one of the most loved clubs in Saudi and beyond.
Al-Ittihad Transfers Club Performance History
Mohammed Noor, Hamad Al-Montashari and Fahad Al-Muwallad the top three capped players for Al-Ittihad are all their academy players. With the club often producing excellent players, a need to look elsewhere did not occur many times in their history.
But outside of Saudi Arabia, Brazil has been a favourite destination for Ittihad to shop. Their legend Romarinho and a few others like Tcecho, Wendel and Bebeto came from the South American giant.
They also have strong ties with players from the Middle East and North Africa as the club has legends from that region. Ahmed Hegazi, Tarek Hamed and Saif Salman all once donned the famous Yellow and Black.
Al-Ittihad Transfer Strategy and Philosophy
Ittihad were very successful thanks to their youth players. Giving chances to youth and promoting them when the time was right yielded them multiple league titles. This became their identity later on before that famous summer of 2023.
After Al-Nassr showed what Saudi Arabian clubs were capable of by pulling Cristiano Ronaldo in January 2023, it sparked off a frantic race. All the clubs wanted to sign their marquee players that could further boost their brand. This meant Ittihad who were never the highest spenders in the market suddenly had the urge to spend big.
It did not work out in the first summer of asking but they hope to get the signings right in the future.
Al-Ittihad Transfer 2024 Challenges & criticisms
The main intention behind the formation of Al-Ittihad was to encourage the local youth to pursue professional sports. The essence carried throughout the club’s illustrious history. But with an increase in club popularity and branding all across the world, they wanted to be global.
Hence, the club started scouting for talent throughout the world and started buying starlets. This made the pathway to the first team a bit difficult for the youngsters in the academy. Not to mention, they have to fight with superstars who are absolute world-beaters to have a career at their native club. This is a problem for a majority of the clubs in the league. They have to come together and address this issue.
Most Expensive Al-Ittihad Transfers
Just like many of the PIF-backed clubs in Saudi Arabia, Al-Ittihad too feasted on the backing provided. The club who were quite shy in the transfer market once, suddenly grew bold. Their ambition to defend the title they’ve won the the 2022/2023 season was there to be seen.
When the stars started descending into Riyadh, Al-Ittihad wanted to make their own mark. Karim Benzema was their first and foremost priority. It would’ve been quite a sensational transfer but Benzema’s contract situation meant he was going to join on a free transfer.
The most expensive transfer tag however went to Moussa Diaby. The French speedster signed for the Riyadh club this summer for €60 million. He was joined by Hossem Aouar in the middle of the park in the same window from Roma. Aouar’s €12 million fee makes him the 5th most expensive signing for them.
Sandwiched in between are the signings made in the stellar summer of 2023. Liverpool’s midfield lighthouse, Fabinho was signed to anchor the midfield. He became the most expensive signing for that club at that point in time costing them €46.7 million. Highly rated Portuguese winger Jota joined from Celtic for €29.1 million.
The Italian veteran centre-back Luiz Felipe was then snapped up from Real Betis for €22 million. These signings were not as flashy or as mouth-watering in numbers as the other clubs around them.
| Player | Transfer Amount (In Million Euros) | From (Club Name) | Year |
| Moussa Diaby | 60 | Aston Villa | 2024 |
| Fabinho | 46.7 | Liverpool | 2023 |
| Jota | 29.1 | Celtic | 2023 |
| Luiz Felipe | 22 | Real Betis | 2023 |
| Hossem Aouar | 12 | Roma | 2024 |
Al-Ittihad Transfer New Signings 2024/25
Al Ittihad had a subpar Pro League season last time out. Entering the fray as defending champions, their title defence was abysmal. The PIF-backed teams levelled up massively and Al-Ittihad weren’t able to compete against Al Hilal and Al-Nassr. They needed a massive summer to get things right and compete for the league.
The agenda of Al-Ittihad was to boost Karim Benzema’s service in the final third. Benzema scored only nine goals in the league and when he was injured, the forward line looked lost. They needed to find men who could serve Benzema but also take pressure off him and score some goals.
Moussa Diaby and Steven Bergwijn were picked as the widemen to do exactly that. Aouar, the midfield magician came in to create chances centrally as well. Ahmed Al-Ghamdi was also signed as cover for the forward line.
Defensive reinforcements were also signed in the form of Danilo Pereira and Mario Mitaj. Other areas which needed addressing such as squad depth were taken care of through loan deals.
| Player | From | Transfer fee (In Million Euros.) |
| Moussa Diaby | Aston Villa | 60 |
| Steven Bergwijn | Ajax | 21 |
| Houssem Aouar | Roma | 12 |
| Ahmed Al-Ghamdi | Al-Ettifaq | 7.5 |
| Saad Al-Mousa | Al-Ettifaq | 6.9 |
| Danilo Pereira | PSG | 5 |
| Muath Fagihy | Al Hilal | 2.4 |
| Ricardo Caraballo | Barranquilla | 0.5 |
| Mario Mitaj | Lokomotiv | Loan |
| Saleh Al-Shehri | Al Hilal | Free |
Al-Ittihad Transfers All Outgoing 2024/25
After a pale defence of their title, Ittihad had a lot of tough decisions to make. They wanted to replace the stars of the past and buy a young core that could help them compete for multiple seasons.
Club legends Romarinho and Ahmed Hegazy were released as their contracts expired after a tough season. Jota, the young Portuguese forward struggled to integrate with the squad. He was in and out of the team and was sold in the summer to make room for new signings.
Other youngsters signed with an eye on the future were sent on loan to develop.
| Player | To | Transfer fee (In Million Euros.) |
| Jota | Rennes | 8 |
| Suwailem Al Manhali | Al-Riyadh SC | 0.2 |
| Ahmed Hegazy | Al-Suqoor | Free |
| Romarinho | Al-Suqoor | Free |
| Ricardo Caraballo | Jeddah FC | Loan |
| Marcelo Grohe | Al-Kholood | Free |
Top Signings for Al-Ittihad in 2024/25
Steven Bergwijn hit the ground win for Al-Ittihad. The Dutch forward was a mainstay for the Dutch national team. He risked his place in that squad for a move to the Middle East. There was public discourse too with Ronald Koeman who dropped Bergwijn from the international side.
However, these controversies did not affect his form on the pitch. Bergwijn with 4 goals and 4 assists to his name helped them jump to the top of the table. Not only with his output but with his overall play, he is causing trouble to the opponents. His linkup with Benzmea is helping the French forward flourish too.
Worst Signings for Al-Ittihad in 2024/25
Al Ittihad’s new players have all gelled incredibly well. The Forwards like Bergwijn and creator Aouar are free-scoring and creating chances. They have outscored opponents and have a two-point lead at the summit in the new season.
However, if criticism is to be made, it should be towards Diaby. It is not for a lack of output but for a different type of output. The French winger has supplied 10 assists in the league and has scored only once. It has left the manager and fans wanting more as they expect more goals from him. Imagine if the numbers were reversed, they’d have been much much happier.
Al-Ittihad transfer Spend Till Now
Al Ittihad were not the biggest spenders around in the summer of 2023. Their two biggest signings Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante arrived on free transfers. This meant that there was still enough cash left to be spent around. Not that cash is a problem for PIF-owned clubs, but the second transfer window has been not as flashy as the first one under PIF backing for many clubs.
This allowed them to come out all guns blazing this summer as they looked to regain the league title from bitter rivals Al Hilal. Al Ittihad spent €115 million on incomings and not a significant amount of it was recovered. Only two players earned them a transfer fee of around €8.2 million. Not having to answer to any PSR rules would help the club for sure.
| Total Spend –€115 million | Total Received – €8.2 million |
