August 28 – The trend of big-name European-based players moving to Saudi Arabia has been reversed in the case of Saud Abdulhamid, who has made history by becoming the first player from his country to be signed permanently by a club in any of Europe’s top five leagues.
The international defender has swapped Saudi Pro League Champions Al-Hilal for Roma in deal reportedly worth around €3 million.
The Serie A club posted a video of the player in his new Roma strip on Tuesday night alongside the caption “Welcome to Roma, Saud Abdulhamid!”
Abdulhamid was a regular starter in Al-Hilal’s 2023/24 campaign, which saw the Riyadh club go unbeaten to win the SPL title by 14 points and the domestic treble. He has been replaced there by Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, the latest name to move to the Saudi league.
“To be honest, being here is such a great achievement from a personal point of view,” said Abdulhamid after arriving in Rome. “I hope I can give it my all here and make all Saudis proud of my performances.”
During his time with the 19-time SPL champions, the 25-year-old, who has 36 caps for his country, played with a plethora of world-class players following the influx of stars from Europe’s top leagues last year.
Brazilian forward Neymar, Serbian striker Aleksandar Mitrović, Portugal’s Rúben Neves and Brazilian winger Malcom all joined club last season. “I’ve learnt lots from them, they’re big stars,” he said.
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