In the summer of 2023, the Saudi Pro League flexed its financial muscles, drawing in players all over the world to play in Saudi Arabia, with Liverpool feeling the effects more than others.

Liverpool players past and present have been flocking to play in the Saudi Pro League with more likely to go in the near future.

Al-Ittihad had a £150million offer for Egypt star Salah rejected by the Reds - but they are likely to step up their interest in him once again next month, even though Liverpool will be reluctant to sell him mid season, especially as they are in the chase for the Premier League title.

Here, Vodacom Soccer takes a look at Liverpool players past and present who have made the trip from Merseyside to the Middle East.

Steven Gerrard

Liverpool legend and Premier League Hall of Fame player Gerrard made his move to the Saudi Pro League in a managerial capacity on the 3rd July 2023, when he was appointed at the helm of Al-Ettifaq.

Currently sat in seventh place, they are 11 points off the top two after 14 matches played.

Gerrard started his playing career at Liverpool and went on to become one of the greatest players to pull on the red shirt.

When spoken about by former France international and Real Madrid player Zinedine Zidane, he said “is he the best in the world? He might not get the attention of Messi and Ronaldo, but yes”.

Gerrard began playing for Liverpool in 1998 when he made his debut against Blackburn Rovers.

After being littered with injuries at the start of his career, he underwent four operations to resolve his groin injury problems which must have helped as the following season he went on to make 50 appearances in all competitions and won his first major honours with the club.

In the 2000/01 season, Gerrard won the cup Treble with the FA Cup, Football League Cup and UEFA Cup.

The 2001/02 season saw him win the UEFA Super Cup and FA Charity Shield and in 2003, he won the League Cup again, scoring in the final against Manchester United to see them win 2-0.

In 2003, Gerrard was made Liverpool captain, a position he held for the rest of his career at the club which came to a pinnacle between 2004 and 2007 in which Gerrard was pivotal in the Champions League-winning side, scoring one of the greatest Liverpool goals with instantly recognisable commentary against Olympiacos to send Liverpool to the knockout stages - and then scoring in the final to contribute towards the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’.

With intermittent success in-between and plenty of transfer speculation with Chelsea and Bayern Munich both being rejected by Gerrard, the end of the Steven Gerrard era with Liverpool was disappointing for the player, with the title slipping away from them in the April of 2014.

Liverpool topped the table but a loss to Chelsea meant the title was no longer in their hands and ultimately, they finished in second place.

In 2015, Gerrard announced he would leave Liverpool at the end of his contract due to the club not offering him a new deal in time. His final match at Anfield was a 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace and his final match for Liverpool was a 6-1 loss to Stoke City, Gerrard being the scorer.

Gerrard went on to play for LA Galaxy before retiring from football at age 36, which sparked his beginning of his managerial career.

He began in the youth systems of Liverpool managing the Under-18s and Under-19s before joining Rangers in 2018.

Gerrard signed a four-year deal with the Scottish giants and helped them win the Scottish Premiership title whilst going unbeaten.

Gerrard got the move to the Premier League, joining Aston Villa, and finished 14th in his first season. He was dismissed just 12 games into the following season after winning two games.

Gerrard is arguably the biggest star to move from Merseyside to the Middle East with a plethora of awards and experience at the highest level.

To apply his pedigree, standing and experience to Al-Ettifaq is huge for the Saudi club.

Igor Biscan

Cult hero and Champions League winner Igor Biscan has been working as manager of Saudi Pro League team, Al-Shabab, since the 18th October 2023.

Biscan played at Liverpool from 2000 to 2005 after being brought in by manager Gerard Houllier amidst speculation of interest from Juventus, Barcelona, Ajax and Milan.

His impressive start to his Liverpool career meant he pushed Dietmar Hamann from the starting XI, replacing him in defensive midfield.

Biscan was played in numerous different positions with Liverpool, as a central midfielder, defender, winger or even full-back - but he fell out of favour after his first season with the club which was redeemed by an injury-crisis in the 2003/04 season, in which he played as a central defender.

However, in the Champions League-winning season of 2004/05, Biscan returned to his more natural position in central midfield.

He played a key role in the progression of Liverpool through the group and knockout stages but failed to get on the pitch in the final.

He may not have had the legacy of Gerrard, but Biscan is fondly remembered at Liverpool for his successful final year with the club.

Biscan moved swiftly into a two-year deal with Panathinaikos, where he failed to live up to the standard previously set by himself before moving back to Dinamo Zagreb and became captain following Luka Modric’s move to Tottenham Hotspur.

In 2012, Biscan terminated his contract with the club and moved into management.

Before moving to Al-Shabab, he managed the Croatian Second Division side Druga NHL, winning them the title, the Slovenian Prva Liga (First Division) side Olimpija Ljubljana, winning the title and cup before being dismissed unexpectedly.

He moved on to Rjeka of the Prva NHL but faced criticism due to his allegiances with Dinamo Zagreb, and resigned following a 3-0 win in 2019.

He had a lot of domestic managerial success upon his arrival as Croatia’s Under-21 manager where he broke the record for biggest win in history against San Marino, winning 7-0 and then broke the record again, beating San Marino 10-0.

The young side qualified for the Euros and made it to the quarter-final before losing 2-1 to Spain in extra time. He went on to spend just four months as manager of Dinamo Zagreb but was released after not qualifying for the Champions League.

With Al-Shabab currently sat in 11th place after playing 14 games, Biscan’s side are just seven points off former Liverpool team-mate Gerrard’s El-Ettifaq.

Biscan will be hoping to do better in the second half of the season and climb the table.

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Sadio Mane

Mane is widely thought of as one of the greatest African footballers of all time and was made the most expensive when he made his £34million move to Liverpool back in 2016 after leaving Southampton.

Mane made a great start to life at Liverpool, scoring the winner in his Premier League debut against Arsenal.

In 2017, he was named in the PFA Team of the Year after scoring 13 league goals in his first season and was awarded Liverpool Player of the Season, despite missing the latter part due to injury.

He became an integral part of the quality attacking force Liverpool had for the 2017/18 season with Mane, Salah, Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho (until he left midway through the season).

In 2018, Liverpool made the Champions League final and Mane surpassed Demba Ba’s record to become the highest-scoring Senegalese player in Premier League history.

Mane scored the equaliser in the Champions League final against Real Madrid but suffered a 3-1 loss.

That defeat was rectified the following season when Liverpool beat Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final in 2019.

Mane scored twice in the UEFA Super Cup final against Chelsea where Liverpool won 5-4 on penalties after the game finished 2-2.

He was named Man of the Match and one month later scored twice again, this time in a 3-1 win over Newcastle which extended his record run of matches without defeat for Liverpool when playing at Anfield to 50.

In 2019, Mane came fourth in the Ballon d’Or rankings behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and team-mate Virgil Van Dijk and was further named the CAF African Footballer of the Year in 2020, the same year Liverpool won the Premier League title with a record of 22 consecutive home wins.

Mane’s final season of 2021/22 was nearly historic after coming second in the Premier League and runners-up in the Champions League, losing 1-0 to Real Madrid. They missed out on a Quadruple after winning both the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.

However, Mane did become the third African player to reach 100 Premier League goals after Didier Drogba and Mo Salah.

Mane went on to join Bayern Munich for a reported £27.4million, before joining Al Nassr on the 1st August 2023.

He revealed former Liverpool team-mates Firmino and Fabinho had contacted him about joining the Saudi Pro League, with former captain Jordan Henderson wishing him good luck on his departure.

Mane scored his first goal for his new club on the 14th August 2023 - and Al Nassr currently sit in second place behind Al-Hilal.

Jordan Henderson

Former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson signed for Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq for a reported £12million.

Henderson brings experience, quality and leadership of the highest level to the Saudi club who are looking to become a top club in the league.

Henderson came to Liverpool in 2011 after joining for an undisclosed fee believed to be between £16-£20m mark from Sunderland - and ended his first season with 48 appearances and a League Cup victory under his belt.

In 2012 he was told he could be signed by Fulham by manager Brendan Rodgers - but the move was rejected by the player.

Henderson established himself well as a regular member of the Liverpool side which came second in the 2013/14 season, just behind Manchester City, and the following season became vice-captain following the departure of Daniel Agger.

He captained the squad when Gerrard wasn’t being used or was suspended - and it was this season that Henderson signed a five-year contract extension with the club.

Gerrard’s departure in 2015 paved the way for Henderson to become captain of the Reds - but he suffered ankle injuries, meaning he missed a large part of the season, with Jurgen Klopp becoming manager. He ended the season with 26 appearances.

Henderson was captain when Liverpool lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid but the following season, he skippered the side to a Champions League victory against Tottenham Hotspur and became the fifth Liverpool captain to lift the trophy.

This came after he signed a new deal in 2018, which kept him at the club until he signed another new contract in 2021 which was supposed to keep him at the club for the ‘long-term’.

But after failing to qualify for the Champions League in 2022/23, he confirmed he would leave the club after 12 years.

Henderson joined Al-Ettifaq, causing a lot of controversy in the UK due to his work with LGBTQ+ groups in the past before moving to Saudi Arabia.

Fabinho

Brazilian defensive midfielder Fabinho officially joined Al-Ittihad on a three-year deal lasting until 2026, with the deal reportedly worth £40million.

This was the fifth largest sum Liverpool have received for a player after Coutinho, Luis Suarez, Fernando Torres and Raheem Sterling, who all commanded higher transfer fees.

Fabinho started his career at Liverpool in the 2018/19 season when he signed a long-term contract from Monaco aged 24 for a reported fee of £39million.

From playing central midfield alongside Georginio Wijnaldum to playing as a centre-back in the FA Cup, Fabinho was widely praised wherever he played for his strong performances, most notably in the Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Barcelona where they overturned a four-goal deficit.

He was thought to have controlled the centre of the pitch in what Fabinho himself described as the ‘biggest match’ of his life.

Despite losing the final to Real Madrid, Fabinho played the full 90 minutes in the following Champions League final where they triumphed over Tottenham.

In 2020, journalist Phil McNulty described Fabinho as a “complete operator” after a match in which he scored a wonder-strike and assisted Salah to settle the game against Crystal Palace.

That same match was Fabinho’s 41st win in 50 Premier League games, with only four players having a better return in their first 50.

This record, along with his other great performances, contributed towards Liverpool’s title win of 2019/20.

It was 2020/21 when Fabinho primarily operated as a centre-back due to injury problems but his performances there gained him a lot of plaudits from analysts, fans and his coach Klopp, who claimed he ‘enjoyed’ playing in that role.

It was 2020 when Fabinho made his 100th appearance for Liverpool and it was calculated that he had more successful tackles than any other player in that Liverpool side, with 64 tackles and 38 interceptions.

The 2021/22 season was full of highs for the Brazilian, winning the EFL Cup where he scored in the penalty shootout against Chelsea and putting in one of the best defensive performances, winning the ball back nine times (joint with Van Dijk).

He also aided Liverpool’s route to the Champions League final by scoring in the semi-final against Villarreal.

Despite the victories, Liverpool just came short of winning an historic Quadruple as Manchester City won the title by a single point and Real Madrid beat them 1-0 in the Champions League final.

Following just missing out on Champions League qualification, Fabinho was amid a kaleidoscope of transfer rumours, with moves to Bayern Munich being squashed and his move to El-Ittihad in jeopardy due to dog laws, this was later dismissed.

Fabinho joined Al-Ittihad which led the way for other high-profile players to join such as Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.

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Roberto Firmino

Roberto (Bobby) Firmino joined Liverpool back in 2015 after moving from Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for a reported £29million, with the deal being finalised on the 4th July 2015.

He now plys his trade at Al-Ahli who currently sit in third place in the Saudi Pro League, just four points behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.

In the beginning of his Liverpool career, he struggled to meet the pace of Premier League football and his inability to combine effectively with striker Christian Benteke meant criticism was thrown at the Brazilian’s style.

But when he was deployed in a false-nine formation in 2016, Firmino seemed to grow into his own with a massively improved run of form on the pitch. He ended up being Liverpool’s top scorer in the 2015/16 season.

With the arrival of Egypt international Salah, Firmino switched his shirt from the No 11 to the No 9 for the 2017/18 season - and kept hold of that shirt until his departure in 2023.

He was faced with controversy in 2018 when former Everton centre-back Mason Holgate accused Firmino of being racist towards him during an FA Cup clash. After consulting lip-readers and several players, it was dismissed with insufficient evidence.

In 2018, Firmino signed a new long-term contract which he described as “an easy decision”.

Shortly after, he played the full 90 minutes in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, in which they lost 3-1.

This season, however, was Firmino’s most clinical as a Liverpool player, scoring 27 goals in all competitions.

Firmino played for 60 minutes in the following Champions League final where they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to lift the trophy. The following season, he became the first Brazilian to score 50 goals in the Premier League after netting against Burnley in a 3-0 win.

He went on to score his 100th goal for Liverpool on the 27th August 2022 by scoring a brace when beating Bournemouth 9-0 in the Premier League.

Firmino was lauded as a “cult hero” by former Liverpool striker Danny Ings and left as the highest-scoring Brazilian player in both the history of Liverpool FC and the Premier League, with 82 goals.

Georginio Wijnaldum

Wijnaldum has joined his former Liverpool team-mate Henderson in signing for Al-Ettifaq. He signed for the Saudi Pro League team on a three-year contract following his departure from Paris Saint-Germain.

He first joined Liverpool in July of 2016, which was his second stint in the Premier League following his time at Newcastle, for a fee of £23million with £2million in add-ons.

In his opening season, Liverpool needed a win to secure a top-four finish and his first-half goal against Middlesbrough was the catalyst as they went on to win the game 3-0.

He also scored in the game against Roma with the aggregate scoreline of 7-6. Liverpool came out on top and they made it through to the final of the Champions League where they lost 3-1 to Real Madrid - he played the full 90 minutes.

The following season he once again played a key role in Liverpool’s path to the final, scoring a brace in two minutes to level the semi-final against Barcelona before Divock Origi scored a goal from a corner taken quickly. They went on to win the subsequent final 2-0 against Tottenham.

The 2019/20 season saw Liverpool lift the Premier League trophy for the first time in 30 years and he was the first choice in Liverpool’s competitive midfield selection.

He came on during the UEFA Super Cup final to play the remaining half hour which Liverpool ultimately won on penalties, marking his second trophy in three months for the club.

Wijnaldum departed Liverpool at the end of his contract to go and play in France for PSG, for whom he signed a three-year deal after they reportedly hijacked the move from Barcelona after offering him double the wage Barca had offered.

Several players have moved from Merseyside to the Middle East and it is anticipated more will be looking to follow suit with the lucrative wage offers and the unprecedented growth of the league with stars of the sport moving over.

With chances of Al-Nassr being allowed to play in the Champions League soon, it's only a matter of time before the Saudi Pro League becomes one of the biggest leagues in world football.

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Liverpool players who have made the move from Merseyside to the Middle East