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Al-Nassr Transfer News, Analysis and Overview- 2024

Al-Nassr Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in Saudi football, currently competing in the top tier of Saudi football, the Saudi Pro League or the Roshn Saudi League (RSL). Founded in 1955, the club is one of the select few to have been one of the inaugural members of the league, and along with it has a rich history of winning league titles and other domestic titles throughout the years.

By now it is clear that Al-Nassr has already established itself as one of the top dogs in the Saudi Pro League. In recent years, it has gained popularity and global recognition due to the acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2023, which has brought in billions of new viewers from around the globe.

According to sources, Al-Nassr is one of the most well-backed and affluent football clubs in Saudi football, with their men’s squad boasting a total market value of €148.45 million. That said, Al-Nassr, along with a few other top Saudi clubs have reportedly garnered an influx of €100 million in revenue, owing to their exciting signings in the past few years. Now with some top talents among their ranks, the blue and yellow outfit will look to recapture their position as the king of the hill.

Al-Nassr Club Performance History

Following the club’s establishment in 1955, it was a while before it came to be recognized as a professional outfit. Once the Saudi Pro League was established in the 1970s, Al-Nassr hit the ground running and secured titles regularly, a tradition that would follow on until the early 2000s as well. Most notably, in 1998 the club extended its dominance to the continental level as well, securing the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup and the Asian Super Cup as well.

In all its years, Al Nassr has won 28 official titles across multiple domestic competitions. As such, the Knights of Najd have claimed the Saudi Pro League nine times, three Crown Prince’s Cup titles, and three Saudi Federation Cup titles. In addition to this, they have also won the King’s Cup title six times and the Super Cup title two times.

From the 2018-2019 season onwards, there was an influx of foreign talent into the squad which while raising the standard of the team, still struggled to find major success. Following the arrival of Rudi Garcia in 2022, the club invested even more into bringing in foreign talent and making their name known. Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival in 2023 opened the door for further European imports with the likes of Otávio, Sadio Mané, Aymeric Laporte, Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic, Aziz Behich, and Alex Telles following suit. With relative success and signs of growing improvement, there is great energy and expectation from Al-Nassr for the future.

Al-Nassr Transfer 2024 Challenges & criticisms

All things considered, Al-Nassr had a massive summer transfer window in the 2023-2024 season which saw the arrival of some top names not just in the team but in the league overall. These signings fixed a lot of problems and elevated the squad to a level where they could compete on various fronts.

That said, the squad still lacked depth in certain areas and the 2024/25 transfer window was a way to address that. By and large, the need of the hour was to make up for departures and strengthen areas that were lacking and the club seemingly took it into account. All in all only 5 real signings were made, which showed that the club was very prompt and precise with what they wanted to do.

Al-Nassr Transfer Strategy and Philosophy

In recent years, the strategy regarding transfers at Al-Nassr has undergone a sharp change. Following the imposition of stricter rules regarding foreign players in the Chinese Super League, Al-Nassr, along with many other Saudi clubs was able to bring in several high-profile players for relatively low transfer fees. Now, much like the rest of the league, Al-Nassr is not shy about splurging large sums on transfer fees to bring more eyes to their project.

Whilst their summer transfer window last year was one that made all the headlines with big-name moves, this summer saw them utilize their scouting system to bring in much younger talents who will be developed for the future but can also make an impact in the team right now.

Most Expensive Al-Nassr Transfers

Before we move on to the summer signings made by Al-Nassr, let us first take a look at some of their most expensive signings. That said, all of their top 5 most expensive signings in Al-Nassr’s history have come about in the last two transfer windows.

Coming in at the top spot is Otavio from Portol for €60.00 million in 2023-24. Following that we have Mohamed Simakan from RB Leipzig who arrived in 2024-2025 for a fee of €35.00m. Next on the list is former Liverpool and Bayern Munich player Sadio Mane who arrived in 2023-2024 for a fee of €30.00m.

Following these up, we have the likes of Aymeric Laporte who arrived in the 2023-2024 season for €27.50m from Manchester City. The next name on the list is Seko Fofana who arrived from Lens in 2023-2024 for a fee of €25.00m.

Al-Nassr Transfer New Signings 2024/25

As mentioned previously, the 2024-2025 summer window was a very strategic one for the club and saw the arrival of 5 players, consisting of some known quantities and some up-and-coming talents. During the window, Al-Nassr moderated their spending to €98.35m on transfers who have made a solid case for themselves this season. That said, there are signs of growing improvement in the squad.

Up first is the club’s marquee signing this summer, Mohammed Simakan secured from RB Leipzig for €35.00m. In addition to this, Angelo was brought in by the club, coming in from Chelsea for €23.00m. Similarly, the likes of Bento and Wesley were secured from Brazilian clubs Athletico-PR and Corinthians for €18.00 million each. Lastly, Salem Al-Najdi was brought in from Al-Fateh for €4.35 million.

Al-Nassr Transfers All Outgoings 2024/25

Naturally, Al-Nassr also had some work to do in terms of making room for their new signings and making up for departures that had left a gap in the overall quality of the squad. Additionally, there were some players that needed to be moved on.

Firstly, Muhammed Sahlouli was sold to Al-Riyadh for €121,000. Similarly, Alex Telles departed for Botafogo, and David Ospina left to Atl. National, Waleed Abdullah went to Al-Diraiyah FC and Yousef Haqawi went to Al-Ula. All of these players left on free transfers.

Top Signings for Al-Nassr in 2024/25

All things considered, there are still a lot of games left to be played with the midpoint of the season rapidly approaching. That said, That said, Al-Nassr currently sits in 4th place and has had a slow start to the season so far. All in all, the team has had mixed performances managing 7 wins and 2 losses in the new season so far.

As of now Bento, Angelo, and Mohammed Simakan have become regular starters in the team and have been playing relatively well for the Al-Nassr side.

Worst Signings for Al-Nassr in 2024/25

As mentioned previously, there have been numerous departures from the team that have been disposed of or sold for a very nominal fee. As such, it has not yielded them with valuable funds to reinvest into the team either. That said, the players brought in have shown some signs of being better than who they are replacing.

With a lot of the season still remaining, it will be interesting to see how they can kick on and whether the players are able to justify their position.

Al-Nassr Transfer Spend Till Now

All things said, it was a busy summer transfer window for Al-Nassr with a number of new signings and departures. By the end of it, the club spent €98.35m whilst raking in €121,000 with their outgoings. Certainly a good bit of business by the club, they will soon need to focus on balancing the books with some of their outgoings though.

As such, it remains to be seen whether these numbers see any change during the January transfer window with incomings or players being sold or sent out on loan.