Al-Nassr are owned by the Public Investment Fund, which also backs the other members of the “Big Four”: Al-Nassr’s city rivals Al-Hilal and the Jeddah clubs Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli. Al-Hilal splashed out on Mohamed Meïté from Rennes, the former Arsenal centre-back Pablo Marí, a couple of Saudi Arabia internationals and, most strikingly, Benzema. View image in fullscreen Karim Benzema moved to Al-Hilal after his relationship at Al-Ittihad soured. Despite the influx of megastars in recent years, fans could be forgiven for feeling nostalgic about the old days. Sami Al-Jaber, who made more than 150 appearances for Saudi Arabia and had a short loan spell at Wolves, has never seen anything like it.

Source: The Guardian February 04, 2026 02:18 UTC