Franck Kessie has joined Al Ahli after one season with Barcelona. Getty
Franck Kessie has joined Al Ahli after one season with Barcelona. Getty
Franck Kessie has joined Al Ahli after one season with Barcelona. Getty
Franck Kessie has joined Al Ahli after one season with Barcelona. Getty

Sport

Football

Franck Kessie completes €12.5m move to Al Ahli from Barcelona

Ivory Coast midfielder becomes the fifth Europe-based player to join the Jeddah club this summer

Jon Turner

August 10, 2023

  • English
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Check out our full Saudi Pro League season guide here

Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie has joined Al Ahli after completing a €12.5 million ($13.7m) move from Barcelona, the Spanish champions announced on Wednesday evening.

Kessie, 26, has signed a three-year contract with the Saudi Pro League side and becomes their fifth-Europe based player to join the club this summer. His arrival follows Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez from Manchester City, Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy from Chelsea, French winger Alain Saint-Maximin from Newcastle, and Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino, whose contract had expired at Liverpool.

A back-to-back league champion having helped AC Milan win Serie A in 2021/22 before Barcelona's La Liga triumph last season, Kessie has also earned 63 caps for the Ivory Coast.

"FC Barcelona and Al-Ahli SC have agreed on a 12.5 million euro transfer for the player Franck Kessie," Barcelona said in a statement.

"FC Barcelona want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Franck for his commitment and dedication, and to wish him all the best and every success in the future."

Kessie arrived at Barca last summer on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract at AC Milan, and made 43 appearances in all competitions. However, many were from the bench and he struggled to hold down a regular place in Xavi Hernandez's team.

Kessie's move continues a remarkable summer of transfer activity by Saudi Pro League (SPL) clubs, who have spent a collective €460m on new players.

Only the Premier League, Serie A, Ligue 1, and the Bundesliga have spent more on new players this summer, and that doesn't include the high-profile signings on free transfers, including Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema and World Cup winner N'Golo Kante, who both joined Saudi champions Al Ittihad.

The SPL has twice broken its transfer record this summer, with Al Hilal responsible both times, first with the signing of Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves from Wolves for €55m, before completing a €60m deal for Brazilian winger Malcom from Zenit St Petersburg.

The 2023/24 SPL season gets underway on Friday when Kessie's Al Ahli host Al Hazm at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium.

All the major Saudi Pro League transfers

Neymar – PSG to Al Hilal. Fee: ($98.5m). Contract: TBC (2 years). @Alhilal_FC / twitter
Neymar – PSG to Al Hilal. Fee: ($98.5m). Contract: TBC (2 years). @Alhilal_FC / twitter
TOP SAUDI PRO LEAGUE DEALS 2023/24: Karim Benzema – Real Madrid to Al Ittihad. Fee: Free. Contract: $439 million (2 years). EPA
TOP SAUDI PRO LEAGUE DEALS 2023/24: Karim Benzema – Real Madrid to Al Ittihad. Fee: Free. Contract: $439 million (2 years). EPA
N’Golo Kante – Chelsea to Al Ittihad. Fee: Free. Contract: $377.6m (2 years). EPA
N’Golo Kante – Chelsea to Al Ittihad. Fee: Free. Contract: $377.6m (2 years). EPA
Sadio Mane – Bayern Munich to Al Nassr. Fee: $30.6m. Contract: $175.2m (4 years). Reuters
Sadio Mane – Bayern Munich to Al Nassr. Fee: $30.6m. Contract: $175.2m (4 years). Reuters
Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City to Al Ahli. Fee: $38.4m. Contract: $150m (3 years). Reuters
Riyad Mahrez – Manchester City to Al Ahli. Fee: $38.4m. Contract: $150m (3 years). Reuters
Jordan Henderson – Liverpool to Al Ettifaq. Fee: $15.3m. Contract: $140.4m (3 years). Reuters
Jordan Henderson – Liverpool to Al Ettifaq. Fee: $15.3m. Contract: $140.4m (3 years). Reuters
Marcelo Brozovic – Inter Milan to Al Nassr. Fee: $19.7m. Contract: $114m (3 years). Getty
Marcelo Brozovic – Inter Milan to Al Nassr. Fee: $19.7m. Contract: $114m (3 years). Getty
Kalidou Koulibaly – Chelsea to Al Hilal. Fee: $21.7m. Contract: $99m (3 years). AFP
Kalidou Koulibaly – Chelsea to Al Hilal. Fee: $21.7m. Contract: $99m (3 years). AFP
Fabinho – Liverpool to Al Ittihad. Fee: $51m. Contract: $81.9m (3 years). PA
Fabinho – Liverpool to Al Ittihad. Fee: $51m. Contract: $81.9m (3 years). PA
Malcom – Zenit St Petersburg to Al Hilal. Fee: $65.8m. Contract: $79.2m (4 years). AP
Malcom – Zenit St Petersburg to Al Hilal. Fee: $65.8m. Contract: $79.2m (4 years). AP
Roberto Firmino – Liverpool to Al Ahli. Fee: Free. Contract: $66m (3 years). @ALAHLI_FC / Twitter
Roberto Firmino – Liverpool to Al Ahli. Fee: Free. Contract: $66m (3 years). @ALAHLI_FC / Twitter
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Lazio to Al Hilal. Fee: $44m. Contract: $66m (3 years). Reuters
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Lazio to Al Hilal. Fee: $44m. Contract: $66m (3 years). Reuters
Jack Hendry – Club Brugge to Al Ettifaq. Fee: $8.3m. Contract: $58.2m (3 years). AFP
Jack Hendry – Club Brugge to Al Ettifaq. Fee: $8.3m. Contract: $58.2m (3 years). AFP
Ruben Neves – Wolves to Al Hilal. Fee: $60m. Contract: $55.2m (3 years). AFP
Ruben Neves – Wolves to Al Hilal. Fee: $60m. Contract: $55.2m (3 years). AFP
Seko Fofana – Lens to Al Nassr. Fee: $27.4m. Contract: $45.9m (3 years). AFP
Seko Fofana – Lens to Al Nassr. Fee: $27.4m. Contract: $45.9m (3 years). AFP
Allan Saint-Maximin – Newcastle United to Al Ahli. Fee: $32m. Contract: $38.1m (3 years). PA
Allan Saint-Maximin – Newcastle United to Al Ahli. Fee: $32m. Contract: $38.1m (3 years). PA
Jota – Celtic to Al Ittihad. Fee: $32m. Contract: $36.9m (3 years). AFP
Jota – Celtic to Al Ittihad. Fee: $32m. Contract: $36.9m (3 years). AFP
Edouard Mendy – Chelsea to Al Ahli. Fee: $20.4m. Contract: $36m (3 years). AFP
Edouard Mendy – Chelsea to Al Ahli. Fee: $20.4m. Contract: $36m (3 years). AFP
Alex Telles – Manchester United to Al Nassr. Fee: $4.4m. Contract: $27m (3 years). AFP
Alex Telles – Manchester United to Al Nassr. Fee: $4.4m. Contract: $27m (3 years). AFP
Moussa Dembele – Lyon to Al Ettifaq. Fee: Free. Contract: Unknown (4 years). AFP
Moussa Dembele – Lyon to Al Ettifaq. Fee: Free. Contract: Unknown (4 years). AFP
Franck Kessie - Barcelona to Al Ahli. Fee: $13.7m. Contract: Three years. Getty
Franck Kessie - Barcelona to Al Ahli. Fee: $13.7m. Contract: Three years. Getty
While you're here
While you're here
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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Updated: August 16, 2023, 12:09 PM
Saudi Pro League 25/26Al Ahli Saudi FC