The Serbian forward, scorer of three fantastic goals in the Saudi classic, tells Euronews his first impressions of this league.
With the transfer market in Europe now closed, the rich Saudi Professional League has until September 7 to sign players.
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So far, the teams in this competition have spent 805 million euros on transfers. One of them is Alexandar Mitrovic, with whom Euronews was able to speak after his sensational hat-trick against Al ittihad.
Euronews: On nights like this, the world will sit up and take notice of the Saudi Professional League, because it was a brilliant match, and you personally also had a brilliant performance. What would you say to players who are thinking about joining this league?
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Al-Hilal player: I moved here from one of the best Premier League, and I believe that this league has everything it needs to become one of the best leagues in the world in the future. They have facilities, they have fans… And I think the players will be more and more willing to come. This league, especially when you see a game like this, can be the future of football in this country.
The current champion, Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad, tried last week to sign Mohamed Salah for 150 million euros, which Liverpool ended up rejecting. Sometimes money is not everything, although the Saudi league tries to catch up in those other aspects, as was well proven in the so-called ‘Saudi Classic’ on Friday.
Euronews: “Let’s talk about the atmosphere. What was it like playing on a night like this? Why did you move here?
AM: “These are the nights and these are the games I came here for. To be honest, I’ve never experienced anything like this in any other league. That atmosphere, for both teams…
I think it was an incredible match. And yes, this is definitely a big part of the reason I moved here. The reception I get from the fans and my teammates is incredible.
I’m very happy. Three games, three victories. The championship has only just started, but I think we are doing well. We are playing good football. We created many chances and played the football that everyone wants to see.
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