KUALA LUMPUR: The Saudi Pro League is the talk of world football, with its clubs luring big names from Europe's major leagues.
Cristiano Ronaldo started the trend by joining Al Nassr early this year, leading to big names Karim Benzema, N' Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Edouard Mendy and Marcelo Brozovic joining the exodus to the desert.
The eye-watering wages are irresistible, and this was the case when the China Super League (CSL) tempted stars such as Oscar, Carlos Tevez, Ricardo Carvalho, Alexandre Pato and Mikel John Obi several years back.
However, the CSL eventually imploded, with clubs folding up following financial difficulties, and this serves as a warning to others not to be overly ambitious.
KL City coach Bojan Hodak, who was an assistant coach with Shandong Taishan from 2011-2012, said the Saudi Pro League has the potential to become a success story, but it will take time to be as well-oiled as Europe's EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga and Serie A.
"At first, the Saudi Pro League seemed to have signed marquee players like Ronaldo and Benzema, who are at the tail-end of their careers. But they also have signed players like Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan who can still perform," said Hodak.
"It happened in China... the clubs signed big names from Europe to bring the spotlight to the CSL. But after a while, the clubs went bust due to the sheer financial strain to pay wages.
"To be a top league in the world, a league needs to be sustainable. The leagues in Europe have been established for years, and are mostly built on solid financial foundations. This is hard to be replicated by new leagues... it's a process that will take time."Hodak said the CSL failed due to a lack of structured youth development in China in its club system.
Hodak said Japan's J-League has been successful, and in the 1990s, it brought in Zico, Salvatore Schillaci, Hristo Stoichkov, Michael Laudrup, Dunga and Pierre Littbarski.
"Having superstar players and coaches will help local players improve. They come with expertise and the latest technology, but there must be a production line of quality local talent.
"This is where the J-League is a success. They also started with older superstars, but they managed to supplement them with good local talent. The clubs in the J-League continue to develop local talent, and this reduces dependency on foreign players."