Man City have 'used their connections with Saudi royalty' to agree Tijjani Reijnders deal
Manchester City's owners may well have some influence over the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) that has funded the £52million sale of Tijjani Reijnders.
That is the opinion of former Aston Villa, Tottenham and Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.
The 28-year-old only arrived at the Etihad Stadium last summer, signing in a £46.5m deal from AC Milan and signing a five-year contract.
But after a fairly disappointing year in England, Reijnders is now set to join Al Qadsiah for a profit, with many raising questions over the deal.
The Netherlands international scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 50 games across all competitions last season, but the vast majority of them came in the first half of the campaign.
By the end of it, Reijnders had been almost completely dropped by Pep Guardiola, appearing in just five of the final 14 Premier League games.
Saudi chiefs have 'paid over the top' for Tijjani Reijnders
There was huge excitement surrounding Reijnders when he arrived at Man City last summer.
The midfielder scored 15 goals across all competitions for Milan, and had massively impressed in the Champions League.
But despite a strong start, the adaptation to the Premier League appeared to be a struggle for the Dutchman and he ultimately fell out of favour with Guardiola.
Reijnders may have expected another chance under new manager Enzo Maresca, but Man City have cashed in on a deal that has raised eyebrows.
"I checked him out a little bit. 28 years old. You're not going to get regular football. I mean, let's be fair," King told Football Insider.
"The Saudi league is now like the Saudi golf. They went after players with ridiculous money. They got the players.
"All hell broke loose between the two associations, the PGA and the LIV Golf in Saudi Arabia. The only way that you're going to improve football in Saudi Arabia is by bringing in players of this kind of quality as such.
"He plays for Holland. He plays for Man City. The owner of Man City is obviously going to have an influence with the king of Saudi Arabia and all this kind of stuff.
"The only way they're going to get players to go to Saudi Arabia, of any note, is to pay over the top. And I can just see them coming in for him."
Saudi Arabia deals prompt questions
While Man City's sale of Reijnders has raised questions, they are not among the most active sellers to Saudi Arabia.
Just Riyad Mahrez and Aymeric Laporte made the switch before the Dutchman. Other Premier League clubs have been utilised the seemingly endless funds in the Middle East more.
Chelsea, for example, with the likes of Joao Felix, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly making the switch.
The deals involved in such club-to-club relationships are unclear, though it is certain that some clubs appear to benefit from them far more than others.