Good news for Manchester City ahead of FIFA Club World Cup comes from Saudi Arabia

Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal were unsuccessful in their attempts to bring in major reinforcements for the FIFA Club World Cup this summer.

The Blue Waves tried to sign renowned players like Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, AC Milan's Theo Hernandez and even Cristiano Ronaldo from Saudi rivals Al-Nassr, but they only received refusals.

"We spoke to many players, but they want to take a vacation after a long season," Al-Hilal president Fahad bin Nafil told reporters as quoted by Trivela.

We tried to sign several players before the Club World Cup, but we were unsuccessful due to lack of time and received illogical offers. We will postpone the transfer window until after the tournament."

He added: “The options during the exceptional transfer window are limited, unlike the summer window, which is longer and offers greater opportunities for technical improvement. [But] we hired the best coach (Simone Inzaghi)."

But where do Man City fit into this story?

Man City have been drawn in Group G for the Club World Cup alongside Juventus, Al-Ain, and Wydad AC, and Pep Guardiola’s side are regarded as the favorites to finish in first place, most likely going head-to-head with the Old Lady.

Should Man City progress to the knockout rounds as group winners, they will face the runner-up of Group H in the round of 16, which could be Al-Hilal who are joined in their group by Real Madrid, Red Bull Salzburg and Pachuca.

With Real Madrid strong favourites to finish top, Al-Hilal are expected to fight for second place in Group H, and achieving that could see them paired up with 2023 Club World Cup champions Man City in an intriguing last-16 tie.

Without major reinforcements coming in at Al-Hilal this summer, many would assume that Man City would become the firm favorites to advance to the next round from that matchup.

Unlike Al-Hilal, Man City have bolstered their squad with four new arrivals ahead of the Club World Cup, signing playmaker Rayan Cherki, midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri and backup goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli who have all been added to Guardiola's 27-man squad.

Inzaghi’s arrival raises hopes for Al-Hilal, but lack of reinforcements is a concern

Even though they were unsuccessful in the transfer market, the Saudi club hired head coach Simone Inzaghi, who led Inter Milan to the Serie A title in 2023-24 before finishing as runner-up in the Champions League final last season. While the arrival of the Italian raises Saudi hopes, many will argue that the squad could be in better shape.

Knowing that the Club World Cup is an opportunity to see Saudi Arabia at the peak of football, Al-Hilal will have to rely on the players already in their squad to make history.

Even without reinforcements, the Saudi club still boasts a number of big names including Bono, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Marcos Leonardo and Malcolm.

This article was originally published on Trivela.

Written by
Oliver Thomas