untitled-design-2023-07-19t123434-428.png
Getty Images

Jordan Henderson and Riyad Mahrez are set to join the big-spending Saudi Pro League in the coming days after Liverpool and Manchester City sanctioned deals for two of the Premier League's biggest names to Saudi Arabia. Henderson, club captain at Liverpool, will reunite with his former Anfield team mate Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq in a deal CBS Sports understands will be worth an initial £10.5 million with further potential add-ons. The 33-year-old is set to sign a three-year contract at the club based in the coastal city of Dammam.

Mahrez is set to sign for Al-Ahli this week after the Saudi Arabian side agreed a €35 million deal with Manchester City. CBS Sports revealed on Sunday that a deal was close with Al-Ahli sufficiently optimistic as to book a medical for the Algerian, one which is due to take place in the coming days after the two clubs finalized terms on the transfer.

Mahrez is set to earn around €30 million a year with the Jeddah-based club, one of four owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), and has agreed to a three-year deal with the option for a further 12 months. CBS Sports first revealed Al Ahli's talks with the Algerian on June 7, when club president Waleed Muaath flew to London to sell the five-time Premier League champion on the move.

Mahrez has been left out of City's squad for their preseason fixtures in Japan to allow him to finalize the move. The 32-year-old joins up with former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Roberto Firmino, previously of Liverpool, on the Al-Ahli roster. The club's spending on big name European talent will not stop there with Allan Saint-Maximin in discussions to join in a deal that would raise significant eyebrows across the continent, his current club Newcastle United also being majority-owned by PIF. 

Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is also on their radar, though they are not expected to formalize their interest for the time being. The Gunners would only sanction a deal for the Ghanaian if they received a sizeable fee and were able to identify a replacement. Al-Ahli have attempted to pitch Partey's camp on a move to Saudi Arabia but he has not so far offered any indication that he would be prepared to push for that move.

Mahrez, meanwhile, is a significant coup for the Saudi Arabian Pro League. CBS Sports can reveal that when PIF asked the quartet of clubs they took over in June -- Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad are the other three -- to submit a list of their top targets for the summer, the Manchester City forward was second on Al-Ahli's ranking. At the top of their wish list was and is Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric and, although the Croatian signed a new contract at the Santiago Bernabeu this summer, sources in Saudi Arabia believe that PIF could test president Florentino Perez with a major bid before the transfer window closes.

As for Henderson, he will be the first England international to move to the Saudi Arabian Pro League. His decision to leave for the riches on offer at Al Ettifaq has not been without its critics with fan group Kop Outs labeling themselves "appalled and concerned" that the veteran midfielder might consider making the move. Henderson has won much praise for his support of LGBTQ+ in recent years, including being shortlisted for the Football Ally honor at the 2021 British LGBT Awards. Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Henderson's three-year contract with Al Ettifaq will provide him with a sizeable pay rise on the £190,000-a-week he is said to earn at Anfield though Saudi sources have dismissed suggestions of a £700,000 weekly deal as a significant overestimation.

Meanwhile talks between Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe and a Saudi Arabian club have collapsed. The Ivory Coast international had been offered a package that included a €5 million net salary in addition to significant bonuses but the club have now moved on to other targets.