Gary Neville calls on Premier League to urgently investigate Saudi trading

Gary Neville wants the Premier League to launch an immediate investigation into the huge sums of money Saudi Arabia is pumping into English football during the transfer window.

The Saudi Pro League is on an aggressive recruitment campaign with a number of Chelsea stars, as well as Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves, approaching a move to the Kingdom.

There are question marks over ‘fair market’ and helping clubs with Financial Fair Play rules, and Neville is convinced that a regulator is needed as soon as possible to clean up the ‘junk’ that is engulfing English football.

Neville wrote: ‘Any chance the Premier League can investigate this Saudi trade like NOW!!!

“Get in as soon as possible a regulator dexterous enough to stop these things at the source! If it doesn’t look good, it probably isn’t good! Independence is required as soon as possible. The board of our game is a mess!’

Gary Neville (right) took to Instagram (left) to demand an investigation into summer trade between Premier League teams and Saudi Arabian teams so far this transfer window

Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal have made a £47 million bid for Wolves captain Ruben Neves

Hakim Ziyech is one of the Chelsea players to attract interest from Saudi Arabia

Chelsea are one club that desperately need to trim down their squad to satisfy FFP, having spent £600 million on new signings in the Todd Boehly era.

The Blues were placed on a UEFA watch list last September of 19 clubs whose finances would be “closely watched over the coming period” after accounts for the 2021-22 season revealed a net loss of £121.3 million.

Mail Sport revealed last year that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – which owns 80 per cent of Newcastle United – are major investors in Chelsea’s majority shareholder, Clearlake Capital. PIF has billions of pounds of assets managed by Clearlake.

Clearlake bought 60 per cent of Chelsea last year in a £4.25 billion takeover, with Boehly leading the consortium.

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly (above) recently visited Saudi Arabia as the Blues look to transfer their hand-offs to the Saudi Pro League

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, led by Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan (above), controls four Saudi teams and is a major investor in Chelsea’s majority shareholder

Sources at Chelsea insist there was no Saudi involvement in the purchase of the club and therefore no potential conflict of interest with Newcastle competing in the same competitions.

At the moment it is Chelsea cast-offs who are tempted by the eye-watering sums of money being offered to play in the Middle East.

Blues midfielder N’Golo Kante is approaching a transfer to Saudi Pro League reigning champions Al-Ittihad and will be paid around £86 million a year.

Al-Hilal, the club rejected by Argentine star Lionel Messi earlier this month, is trying to convince Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly to join them for £25 million a year.

Al-Nassr, who caused a stir in December by signing Cristiano Ronaldo, has offered winger Hakim Ziyech the chance to double his salary in Riyadh.

And outcast striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored just three times for Chelsea after joining from Barcelona last year, is reportedly another Saudi target.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the Saudi Pro League’s biggest star, playing for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr