As Salah shines for Liverpool, Benzema, Neymar and Fabinho's devaluation in Arabia

Saudi Arabia has been the talk of the footballing world this summer in the transfer market. Willing to spare no financial effort and always looking to make its league one of the most attractive on the planet, the Persian Gulf country has managed to bring in players who have played in Europe's elite. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the door and, after him, Benzema, Neymar, Mané, Fabinho, Carrasco and Veiga, among others, have also embarked on their journey to the new 'Dorado'.

An exodus that guarantees good emoluments to those who are part of it but that, in return, entails a devaluation in its price. At least that's what Transfermarkt, a recurring portal when it comes to analysing the market values of players from all over the planet, says. As the latest update of players in the Saudi Pro League shows, the trend is towards devaluation. As a general rule, the market value of the 'stars' who have left for Arabia has fallen. Some of them have even reached historic lows.

Karim Benzema, who swapped Real Madrid for Al Ittihad in the summer, is the Saudi Arabian La Liga player whose value has fallen the most. He has fallen by no less than ten million euros since Transfermarkt's last update last June, just after his time at the Santiago Bernabeu came to an end. Specifically, he has gone from being worth 25 million euros to 15 million euros. It is his lowest market price since 2007, when he was still a promising youngster in the ranks of Olympique Lyon. But it is not only Benzema who has experienced such a devaluation. Neymar and Milinkovic-Savic, the two star signings of current league leaders Al Hilal, have also fallen by ten million euros. The Brazilian has gone from 60 million to 50 million market value and, due to his long-term injury, his price is expected to decrease further in the coming months. The Serbian, who left for Arabia as Lazio's star player, has seen his value drop from 50 million to 40 million.

<strong>Devalued players</strong>

Fabinho, Kessié, Carrasco, Brozovic, Saint-Maximin... all of them have also suffered from the general devaluation of the Saudi League's new recruits. A championship that, despite offering contracts never seen before in the world of football, is still far from having the same level of the big European leagues. Only Gabri Veiga, Al Ahli's surprise signing last summer, has not seen his Transfermarkt value drop: it remains at 30 million euros.