Al Hilal has agreed to pay £68.3 million to sign Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville from West Ham United, marking yet another blockbuster transfer powered by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth machine.
The deal, which values the 24-year-old at roughly €80 million, dwarfs a rejected €46 million bid from AS Roma.
The sovereign wealth playbook
Al Hilal is backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. Summerville only joined West Ham from Leeds United for over £25 million back in August 2024. That means West Ham is looking at nearly tripling its investment in under two years.
The rejected Roma bid of €46 million, roughly £39 million, shows just how wide the financial gap has become between Saudi-backed clubs and their European counterparts. Al Hilal didn’t just outbid Roma. They outbid them by nearly 75%.
