Roberto Mancini, the head coach of the Saudi Arabia national football team, voiced his apprehensions on Monday regarding the insufficient playing time for some players in his squad, attributing it to the significant spending spree by domestic clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
As Saudi clubs invest heavily in international football stars like Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo, signalling a broader move into sports, Mancini acknowledged the challenge this poses for player participation ahead of the Asian Cup. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 World Cup.
Leading into their Asian Cup campaign, the Saudi national team, under Mancini’s guidance, will face Oman on Tuesday. Despite Mancini expressing contentment with the pre-tournament preparations, he highlighted that not all players are getting sufficient game time at their respective clubs.
“We may have problems with some Saudi players because they don’t play many games, and this is the problem,” Mancini stated regarding the country’s ambitious spending strategy. “We have many players who often don’t play in their clubs.”
He contrasted this situation with Oman, emphasising that their players consistently participate in league games. Anticipating a challenging match against Oman in Group F, which also includes Thailand and Kyrgyzstan, Mancini acknowledged the tough competition.
Saudi Arabia, having defeated eventual champions Argentina in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, enters the Asian Cup as one of the favourites. However, the influx of foreign talent has led to several players losing their positions at their respective clubs, with notable impacts at Al-Hilal, which made high-profile signings like Neymar, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom, Ruben Neves, and Kalidou Koulibaly during the summer transfer window.