Al-Hilal spent $90 million on these 3 players and now they are not even substitutes

The Saudi Arabian Pro League was the fastest growing tournament in the world in recent months. Since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr in December 2022, many top players followed his path and decided to leave Europe to accept the multi-million dollar offers of that Asian country.

One of the clubs that added the most stars this summer was Al-Hilal. Neymar was the biggest signing, arriving from Paris Saint-Germain for more than $90 million and agreeing to a salary of more than $100 million a year. But he was not the only one. Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, defender Kalidou Koulibaly, midfielders Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves, and forwards Malcom and Aleksandar Mitrovic also joined.

However, some of them did not play in the last game due to the coach's decision. Jorge Jesus left out of the squad three of the main stars, Bono, Koulibaly and Milinkovic-Savic, in the club's debut in the Asian Champions League. And Al-Hilal missed them, as they barely managed a 1-1 draw against Navbahor Namangan of Uzbekistan.

This decision provoked the discontent of fans, who were unable to enjoy some of the team's best players, for whom the club paid $90 million this summer. But there is an explanation for it: Asian Football Confederation rules prohibit clubs from using more than 5 foreign players in international matches. So Jorge Jesus had to choose among his stars and preferred to include Neves, Malcom, Neymar, Mitrovic and Michael.

Things are going well for them

Despite the disappointing draw against Navbahor Namangan in the Asian Champions League, Al-Hilal are doing very well. In the Pro League they are the sole leaders of the standings with 16 points, having won 5 games, drawn one and lost none. Last Friday they beat Al-Riyadh 6-1.