Al Hilal spend as Al Nassr stall, ownership shift underpins Saudi summer split | OneFootball

Riyadh’s powerhouses Al Hilal and Al Nassr are heading into the summer in starkly different shape as 2026-2027 nears. The Saudi window runs from 22 July to 6 September.

Al Nassr are set to enter without a signing amid a financial crisis and have not replaced Marcelo Brozovic after his contract expired. They pursued Real Mallorca midfielder Samu Costa for around 9 million euros, Asharq Al-Awsat reports. Approval has not arrived, with strict oversight requiring budget sign-off before talks can be concluded.

Al Hilal, by contrast, have already added five domestic players, Mohammed Al-Owais, Mohammed Al-Sarnoukh, Nawaf Al-Habashi, Abdullah Al-Enezi and Sabri Dahl. David Ornstein has reported an agreement worth 80 million euros for Crysencio Summerville.

That fee would top the 77 million euros Al Nassr paid for Jhon Duran, but sit below Neymar’s 90 million move to Al Hilal. Roma’s third and final bid for Summerville was 46 million euros before Al Hilal stepped in, according to Ben Jacobs.

The contrast was evident last winter, when Al Hilal completed seven deals led by Karim Benzema, while Al Nassr signed only Abdullah Al-Hamdan on a free after he left Al Hilal. The gap angered fans and Cristiano Ronaldo, and officials said Al Hilal’s business lay outside recruitment committee funds with backing from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal.

Ownership now defines the split. About three months ago, Kingdom Holding Company, owned by Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, bought 70% of Al Hilal for 840 million riyals, moving them out of the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s remit. Al Nassr remain under the Fund and, amid reports of their biggest financial crisis, face restrictions on every deal.

Source: Goal.com