Sami Al-Jaber says Crysencio Summerville does not merit €65m transfer fee

Sami Al-Jaber has criticised the escalating cost of football transfers, saying Crysencio Summerville was not worth the €65m paid by Al-Hilal to sign him from West Ham.

The Al-Hilal and Saudi Arabia great argued that Saudi Pro League clubs have become a prime target for agents, intermediaries and European clubs seeking to maximise their income from player sales.

Speaking on the television programme Nadeena, Al-Jaber said the spending power of Saudi clubs had been used to inflate players’ market values well beyond what their performances justified.

“Agents, intermediaries and foreign newspapers are the reason for the rise in player prices, and Saudi Pro League clubs have become a major target for stars and European teams looking to make money,” he said.

Al-Jaber was particularly critical of the fee for Netherlands international Summerville, although he acknowledged the winger’s ability and potential to become an important player in the future.

“The current prices are extremely illogical. Summerville is not worth €65m. He is an excellent player with a future, but the amount paid for him is huge,” Al-Jaber said.

He also questioned whether Summerville’s transfer value could be justified when compared with other players, asking: “Do we compare him, for example, with Pedro Neto?”

The former Saudi Arabia captain said a player’s technical assessment should be considered separately from the figures demanded in the transfer market. In his view, the issue extends beyond Al-Hilal and reflects a wider trend across the Saudi Pro League, where transfer fees have risen sharply compared with previous years.

Al-Jaber warned that continuing to pay large sums could create greater difficulties for Saudi clubs in the future. He said expensive deals encouraged European clubs to raise their expectations of the Saudi market, potentially making subsequent negotiations more challenging financially.

“Al-Hilal and other clubs are paying huge sums of money, and this will create great difficulty in the future when it comes to attracting stars,” he said.

His comments raise broader questions about how Saudi Pro League clubs should manage their transfer strategies as competition for high-profile players increasingly depends not only on footballing quality but also on the ability to meet rapidly rising prices while maintaining sustainable spending.

Al-Jaber also said Saudi clubs had become “a target for many people financially” as the value of deals continued to increase. His remarks came amid a wider debate about whether the fees being paid in the Saudi market are creating a new benchmark from which clubs may eventually find it difficult to retreat.

The discussion also focused on the role of agents, intermediaries and overseas media in shaping perceptions of players’ worth. Al-Jaber’s position is that those influences, combined with the financial strength of Saudi clubs in recent years, have contributed to a market in which transfer prices can become disconnected from a player’s actual sporting value.