'Not fit for our league' - SPL owner doesn't want Salah to come to Saudi - video Dailymotion

Al Kholood owner Ben Harburg says he'd rather have Vinicius join the Saudi Pro League than Mohamed Salah

Transcript

00:00There's a narrative around him that they asked him to come before and he rejected us.

00:04And these are not people that like to be spurned and are going to come back around the second time.

00:08So I do think that there's already, even amongst the public, much more apprehension around his coming into the league.

00:14He's 33 years old. He got paid a boatload a year or so ago or whatever it was and has underperformed massively since then.

00:21He doesn't strike me as a great team player, you know, speaking out about your ownership after signing a contract like that.

00:28And as an owner, when I look at the way he behaved there, if a player isn't performing, they're not going to be in the starting lineup.

00:33We don't put people in the starting lineup based on what they did three seasons ago or even last season.

00:37And so all that to me combines for what feels like a fairly toxic combination of factors.

00:42So I would rather he not come here. I'm sure some people like his star power. He's from the region.

00:47But my sentiment is that he is not a fit for our league.

00:49And I would rather if it were between him and Vinicius, I'd take Vinicius.

00:52I think actually Vinicius could come here and thrive. It's a different environment from Spain.

00:57He might get some of the different pressure from fans like he's feeling in Spain, some of the racism he's called out.

01:02So I actually think it might end up being a better environment for someone like him.