Gary Neville says Premier League should stop Saudi Arabia transfers

 Gary Neville has called on the Premier League to stop the transfer of players to Saudi Arabia until it is certain the integrity of its competition is not being put at risk.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante have already joined the Saudi Pro League - marquee names but near the end of their career - and there was speculation Lionel Messi would too, before his move to the US.

A growing number of players at their peak are attracting interest too, including Wolves captain Ruben Neves, Chelsea's Kalidou Koulibaly and Hakim Ziyech and Arsenal's Thomas Partey. It underlines the league's ambition to be one of the top five in the world.

Neville, though, is among those asking what all this potential activity means.

about football which makes it authentic and not artificial," a senior league source told BBC Sport.

"When it happened in China, it wasn't explicitly government money. It was about encouraging entrepreneurs to do things. Then that stopped. Here the funding is more secure and part of a long-term plan. The clubs are well established in the local communities and football across the country is by far the number one sport.

"Although the league has a fair amount of foreign players, it's the big stars who get you worldwide TV coverage. As soon as Ronaldo came in, the league started to be shown in every major market. It gets that immediate attention.

"The announcement that the top four clubs will be 75% owned by PIF, rather than by the state, turns them into a proper business. It is not just about bringing in top players but also about changing the economy of the game here to make it more private sector and develop clubs and companies and brands.

"The Ronaldo transfer proved it can happen. It is one thing to say 'we are going to sign the best players in the world' but for someone of Ronaldo's status to actually come, live in Riyadh and play every game, was a surprise to people and showed we could get other people to come."

Is Europe worried about a talent drain?

For European football, the rise of the Saudi Pro League presents a challenge.

Losing key players is not a new experience - China and Major League Soccer have tempted stars away in the past. However, the departure of players in their prime, such as Neves, is a concern.

If he can pick up the kind of eye-watering salary speculated at, how do European clubs respond? Even among the top 20 in Deloitte's rich-list, funds are not limitless and financial regulations have to be adhered to. If they try to compete over an extended period, it would materially impact clubs' biggest outlay - salaries.

And what about the Champions League? If it's pre-eminence as a club competition started to be undermined by an absence of world football's biggest names, could clubs from outside Europe be offered entries?

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin doesn't see it that way.

"It's mainly a mistake for Saudi Arabian football," he told Dutch broadcaster NOS. "They should invest in academies, bring their own coaches and develop their own players.

"The system of buying players that are almost at the end of their career is not the system that develops football. It was a similar mistake in China when they all brought players who are at the end of their career.

"It's not only about money. Players want to win top competitions. And the top competition is in Europe."