Saudi League: Why Karim Benzema's Al-Ittihad are set to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr to the title

Pep Guardiola knows a thing or two about spending sprees, so when the manager of Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City says that Europe's elite clubs "need to be aware of what's happening" in the Saudi Pro League, you can be sure that something seriously significant is going down.

As the Catalan has correctly pointed out, the SPL has "changed the transfer market" this summer, paying one inflated transfer fee after another for players convinced to move to the Middle East by stunning salaries. As Odion Ighalo put it when asked why he and the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo are in Saudi Arabia, "It's for money, bro."

The reasoning has been obvious from the start, though. The real interest lies in whether it's sustainable. It obviously is from a financial perspective. Saudi Arabian clubs have deep pockets, particularly Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal - who have just been taken over by the country's Public Investment Fund in a clear attempt to create a 'Big Four'.

The historic spending spree that has followed has undeniably captured the attention of the footballing world - the question now is whether the SPL can keep a hold of it. An entertaining and competitive 2023-24 campaign would certainly help in that regard, with the emphasis on the new arrivals to not only elevate the standard of play but also make new fans out of the many interested overseas observers.

So, what can we expect from the new season? And who's likely to come out on top? GOAL tells you everything you need to know below...

Al-Ittihad

Al-Ittihad are the reigning champions and obvious favourites to win this season's title after a very productive summer. After all, Nuno Espirito Santo had already turned them into the most well-balanced team in the Pro League. They scored 60 goals last season - only Ronaldo's Al-Nassr managed more - but conceded just 13.

It's not difficult, then, to see the champions being even better in 2023-24, with N'Golo Kante and Fabinho having arrived to give even greater protection to the backline, and current Ballon d'Or holder Karim Benzema set to spearhead an attack that has also been bolstered by the signing of former Celtic winger Jota, who could prove one of the surprise stars of the season, and still features last season's top scorer, Abderrazak Hamdallah.

Benzema, though, is obviously the key. He had his injury issues last season but he remains a world-class talent, which is precisely why Real Madrid were so desperate to keep him for another season. Indeed, the French forward is already banging in the goals in the Arab Club Champions Cup, so do not be at all surprised if Benzema beats former club-mate Ronaldo to the Pro League's top scorer award this season.

Al-Nassr

It's still hard to believe that Al-Nassr were top of the table when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo to great fanfare in January and yet failed to win the league. The Portuguese scored freely, of course, netting 14 times in just 16 games, but his frustration with Rudi Garcia's tactics quickly became obvious, and the French coach was sacked before the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

So the pressure now falls on Luis Castro to lead Al-Nassr to a first title since 2019. Ronaldo's compatriot doesn't exactly boast a stellar CV, but he did win the Ukrainian Premier League with Shakhtar Donetsk in 2020 and besides, he's taking over a squad that has been significantly strengthened over the summer.

How much Alex Telles will add to the defence is, of course, debatable after his trying time at Manchester United, but Seko Fofana should make a big impact in a midfield that will now be run by the excellent Marcelo Brozovic, who was Inter's best player in the Champions League final.

However, the signing that's generated most headlines is, of course, that of Sadio Mane. The Senegalese has endured a dramatic decline over the past 12 months that saw him go from a hero at Liverpool to a zero at Bayern Munich. However, the 31-year-old should still have more than enough left in the tank to run riot up front alongside Ronaldo, meaning Al-Nassr should once again be challenging for the title.

Al-Hilal

Al-Hilal's bid for a fourth consecutive Pro League title unravelled over the second half of last season, but that had a lot to do with the fact that they reached the final of both the Club World Cup, where they stunned Flamengo in the semi-finals, and the AFC Champions League.

Al-Ahli

Back in the top flight after winning last season's First Division, Al-Ahli were without a manager until the end of July before managing to lure Matthias Jaissle away from Red Bull Salzburg, which caused quite a bit of controversy. The German had won back-to-back Austrian titles with Salzburg, so they were furious when it emerged that he was in talks over a move to the Jeddah just two days before the start of the new Bundesliga season.

Al-Ahli won't care, though, after finally filling their coaching vacancy with the highly-rated Jaissle, who could work wonders with arguably the most exciting attacking line-up in the league. Star summer signings Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez and Allan Saint-Maximin really should form a fantastically fluid forward line with enough flicks and tricks to bamboozle even the best defences in Saudi Arabia.

However, Al-Ahli have also strengthened elsewhere, with the signing of Franck Kessie from Barcelona representing a real coup, given he was tipped to join Juventus. The Ivorian will add quality and physicality to the midfield, while ex-Roma centre-back Roger Ibanez is a great addition to the backline.

As for Eduouard Mendy, the Senegalese goalkeeper may have suffered a serious slump at Stamford Bridge, resulting in him losing his starting spot to Kepa Arrizabalaga, but if he can get back to anything resembling his Champions League-winning best, he could prove a real difference-maker.

A title triumph is perhaps too much to expect from the newly-promoted side, but the PIF-backed team will be expected to at least challenge for top spot.

However, the most successful side in Saudi Arabian football look far better equipped to win a record-extending 19th title this term - not least because they now have Jorge Jesus back in charge. The Portuguese fell out with his employers during his first spell at Al-Hilal, but he returns after four years away having only further enhanced his reputation as one of the game's great coaches by winning a Copa Libertadores with Flamengo, in 2019.

Jesus will also have a stellar squad at his disposal. Kalidou Koulibaly may have underwhelmed at Chelsea but the Napoli legend is an incredible acquisition for the centre of the defence, while Ruben Neves and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic have the makings of the best midfield pairing in the league.

Unlike many of the other players to have moved to Saudi Arabia this summer, both Neves and Milinkovic-Savic are still in their prime and the Serb, in particular, should quickly prove himself one of the most dominant players in the Pro League.

There have been no superstar signings up front as of yet - unless you count former Barcelona winger Malcom, who has joined from Zenit - but in Ighalo they already possess a proven goalscorer at this level. All things considered, a title challenge appears inevitable.

Al-Ettifaq

Al-Ettifaq may not be backed by the PIF, but they've still managed to make some intriguing moves during the off-season. At the very least, they'll draw some interest from Liverpool fans, given they've now got two former Reds captains on their books, with Jordan Henderson set to take pride of place in Steven Gerrard's midfield.

The former's reputation is in tatters because of his money-over-morals decision to move to the Middle East, while the latter is looking to rebuild his for very different reasons, after a dreadful spell in charge of Aston Villa.

Gerrard will certainly have his work cut out challenging for a top-four spot for a side that finished seventh last season. However, in Henderson, he does at least have a proven leader who will add experience and undeniable quality to the most important area of the pitch, while Scotland international Jack Hendry is a decent addition to a defence that performed admirably last season.

What Gerrard really needs, though, is new signing Moussa Dembele to shake off a dreadful 2022-23 campaign at Lyon. Al-Ettifaq only scored 28 goals last term - even fewer than relegated Al-Adalah - so the key to their hopes of success is Dembele catching fire alongside Robin Quaison and Amin Younes, who have both been capped at the international level, by Sweden and Germany respectively.

Other players to watch

Outside of 'The Big Four' and Al-Ettifaq, it really is slim pickings in terms of players with elite-level experience. Most of the other clubs really are just there to fight for survival - and relevance.

However, Al-Shabab, who finished fourth last season, do have former Valencia and Inter playmaker Ever Banega at No.10, while fellow Argentine Lisandro Lopez, who made his name at Benfica, has joined Al-Khaleej.

Winger Cristiano Tello, who will be lining out for Al Fateh, will be a familiar face to Barcelona fans, as will Alex Collado, who joined Betis from the Blaugrana this summer before being immediately loaned to Al-Okhdood.

Meanwhile, Adam Maher, a Netherlands international a decade ago, is the main man in midfield for Damac.