da leao： Saudi Pro League teams competing in the UEFA Champions League remains a possibility, admits the division’s chief operating officer Carlo Nohra.

da poker： Article continues below

Article continues below

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Leading stars lured to Middle EastGrand plans being drawn upEuropean competition part of that project?WHAT HAPPENED?

Football in the Middle East is very much on the rise, with the World Cup finals having been hosted by Qatar in 2022. The FIFA Club World Cup is heading to Jeddah in December – where the likes of Manchester City and Al-Ittihad will be on show – and there is still a chance that Saudi sides will form part of elite European competition at some stage.

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Nohra insists that the Saudi Pro League remains “completely committed” to the AFC Champions League, but he has told of the Champions League speculation: “We are trying to be different. So any change or improvement that can be introduced to the league will be welcome.”

AND WHAT'S MORE

The Saudi Pro League has – with Cristiano Ronaldo already on their books at Al-Nassr – spent more than $850 million (£673m) on foreign players this summer. The likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane are now in the Middle East, while there is talk of Mohamed Salah joining them. Nohra added on the most ambitious of sporting projects: “We are doing whatever it takes to have those players coming to Saudi Arabia. That doesn’t mean it’s an open-ended budget, but we cannot handcuff ourselves if we want to bring some of the best talents here. We’ve got to pay the going rates to bring them here.”

GettyWHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Saudi Arabia had hoped to form part of the bidding process for the 2030 World Cup, but a joint venture with Greece and Egypt has been abandoned. The country does still have a “Vision 2030” plan, though, and attracting sporting superstars to the region will help them to deliver on long-term goals.