Al Ettifaq represent something new, they are one of the clubs in the Saudi Arabian league that are currently not owned by PIF (Public Investment Fund).
With Steven Gerrard and now Jordan Henderson at the club, the hope will be that the Saudi Arabian side will be able to compete with the mega riches of the clubs that are backed by the PIF, which will certainly take some doing.
The signing of Jordan Henderson, the former Liverpool midfielder, for the Saudi Arabian side represents a chance for one of the relative minnows of the division.
This is despite the teams around them spending ridiculous sums of money on players such as Cristiano Ronaldo making the move to Al-Nassr or Kylian Mbappe being pursued by Al-Hilal for a reported fee of £259 million, there is money to spend.
But the signing of Henderson, which could well be the club’s statement signing, represents a modest fee of just £12 million for the English midfielder.
Who are Al Ettifaq
As mentioned, the club currently are not owned by the PIF of Saudi Arabia, so their money and wealth isn’t as vast as the big four so to speak of Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli. The club was founded in 1945 and plays its games at the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, which holds a capacity of 26,000.
Their current manager is Steven Gerrard, formerly manager of Rangers and most recently Aston Villa. The club boasts a couple of well-known names with Henderson joining the likes of Marcel Tisserand, formerly of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, and Moussa Dembele, the former Olympique Lyonnais and Celtic striker, too.
What are their chances in the league
The club are majorly handicapped by the lack of funds available to them when compared to the big four, but nevertheless, they have a chance this season with Gerrard at the helm.
Gerrard won the league in Scotland, wrestling the title out of the clutches of Celtic, so it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility that he could do the same thing for the Middle Eastern side and win the Saudi Pro League.
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