5 players that rejected Saudi offers including Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi

Saudi Arabia is the toast of many footballers currently after the Saudi Pro League witnessed a high influx of players from Europe’s top leagues into the Middle East country.

Since the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in December 2022 by Al Nassr, several other superstars have followed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner to the Saudi Pro League.

Sadio Mane, Fabinho, and Roberto Firminho, all former Liverpool players, have all signed for a Saudi Pro League club this summer, while the likes of Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante have pitched tents in Saudi Arabia too.

However, despite the Saudi offers being enticing, several have been turned down by some high-profile players in Europe, including Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe.

Here, Sports Brief lists five players who have turned down mega offers from Saudi Arabia clubs to remain in Europe or move somewhere else.

1. Kylian Mbappe

Kylian Mbappe rejected a move to Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League after emissaries of the Arab club were sent to Paris to convince the striker to join the Saudi Arabian train, MARCA reports.

Al Hilal had submitted a written offer to PSG of $330mil for Mbappe, and the French forward was also tempted with a $775mil salary which he turned down in preference to remain in Europe.

Mbappe is hoping to seal a dream move to Real Madrid and is willing to wait out the one year left on his PSG contract to make that happen.

2. Lionel Messi

Al-Hilal offered Lionel Messi a €220mil per year deal to match the package Al-Nassr gave Cristiano Ronaldo to tempt the Argentina superstar to move to Saudi Arabia, Goal reports.

Messi would later sign for MLS Franchise Inter Miami, co-owned by David Beckham, after leaving Paris Saint-Germain following the expiration of his two-year contract at the French club.

3. Ousmane Dembele

Barcelona have confirmed that Ousmane Dembele will join Paris Saint-Germain after deciding to end his stint with them to return to his home country, BBC reports.

In an attempt to hijack the deal from PSG, Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal also tried to sign Dembele after they offered the Frenchman €200 million over 5 years, which he turned down.

4. Romelu Lukaku

Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal also tried signing out-of-favour Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku after they offered the Belgium striker a two-year contract worth €80m, Trubuna reports.

Lukaku's preference is to stay in Italy after a year-long spell with Inter Milan and is pushing to seal a move to Italian heavyweights Juventus.

Juve will pay Chelsea €40mil for the Belgium forward as he looks set to continue his stint away from Stamford Bridge for the 2023/24 season.

5. Alvaro Morata

Atlético Madrid striker Alvaro Morata has just recently extended his contract with the club until 2026, however, he was faced with a huge contract proposal from Al Taawon, One Football reports.

Al Taawon are said to be offering the former Chelsea and Juventus forward €50mil per year to join the Saudi Pro League club which he rejected with AS Roma and Juventus interested in his services this season.