Saudi Pro League hits embarrassing new low as just 390 people turn up for match
Saudi Pro League attendance figures have hit an all-time low for the 2024/25 season, with only a couple of double-decker bus-loads of supporters turning up for a match at the weekend
Saudi Pro League clubs might have more money than they know what to do with, but the one thing they can't buy, it seems, is fans.
Just 390 people bothered to show up to watch the titanic clash between Al Fayha and Al Riyadh on Sunday - a game which featured global superstars such as Renzo Lopez, Gojko Cimirot, Mohammed Al Baqawi and Chris Smalling.
It was officially the lowest gate of the 2024/25 season, and while Saudi Pro League pin-ups Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante weren't about, it's nonetheless an embarrassing turnout for a competition with eyes on becoming one of the top football divisions in the world.
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There's still a way to go before figures dip below last season's nadir of a 117-capacity crowd, but given that the lowest gate during the 2019/20 season - back when Bafetimbi Gomis was the competition's biggest star - was 581, it's fair to say the Saudi Pro League has a problem or two on its hands.
According to Transfermarkt, over three-quarters of Saudi Pro League clubs have average attendance figures of under 10,000 this season - with even Ronaldo's Al-Nassr side struggling to consistently attract large crowds - and more than half of them averaged under 5,000 last season.
How long will it be before top players stop moving to the Saudi Pro League? Let us know in the comments section below.
Collectively, Saudi clubs have spent more than £2billion on players in the last two years. This summer, the likes of Ivan Toney, Joao Cancelo, Moussa Diaby and Kurt Zouma all sealed blockbuster moves to the Gulf state, joining the plethora of top talent who followed in Ronaldo's wake following the Portugal legend's transformational switch to Al-Nassr in 2022.
Typically, clubs have gone after players in the twilight of their careers, but a few young(ish) stars have been lured to Saudi Arabia in recent months like Allan Saint-Maximin and Steven Bergwijn. High profile(ish) managers such as Steven Gerrard, Laurent Blanc and Jorge Jesus have also taken the plunge, while plans reportedly remain afoot to coax figures like Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho to the league in 2025.
Oh, and Al Fayha beat Al Riyadh 2-0 by the way... if you care.