Clubs should think twice before doing transfer deals with those in the Saudi Pro League, according to Welsh side The New Saints, who claim they are yet to receive a penny after selling their star striker Brad Young to the Saudi club Al-Orobah last summer.
TNS say the result of their appeal to Fifa, with a tribunal convened in the middle of January, was an order that the first instalment on the transfer fee, a sum of $150,000 (£121,000), must be paid within 45 days, with 5% interest added.
The club went on to say that Fifa’s general secretary, Mattias Grafström, had also proposed a second instalment of the transfer fee be paid within a 45-day period of 21 February.
“We would strongly advise any clubs who are considering entering into negotiations with clubs in the Saudi Pro League to think twice before they do so,” said the TNS chair Mike Harris.
“The money side is good but if you look at the standard of the league and the players of the league, it’s probably among the top five leagues,” Young told Sky.
