The latest summer transfer window saw the rise of the Saudi Pro League.

Known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, the division has seen several high-profile players join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Middle East, and it is quickly becoming one of football's biggest talking points.

Brazillian superstar Neymar Jr was the latest world-renowned footballer to leave Europe in favour of a move to Saudi Arabia after he signed with Al-Hilal on a two-year contract that could see him earn a reported $300m (£235.4m).

DAZN recently secured the rights to broadcast the league's matches for a two-year period on a multi-territory basis, which will undoubtedly continue to raise the profile of the rapidly rising division.

Football FanCast brings you the lowdown of all the latest information and news regarding the competition.

Saudi Pro League teams

The league is comprised of 18 clubs

The Saudi Pro League expanded to 18 teams this season. But realistically, only four sides have a real chance of winning the title.

Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli are all owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), who are also the majority owners of Newcastle United.

Most of the European footballers who have left the continent to join the RSL this summer are plying their trade at one of the aforementioned sides, which appears to have enlarged the gulf in quality between them and the other 14 teams.

Below is a table displaying all 18 participating teams, along with their star players and managers.

How the Saudi Pro League works

34 matches in a season

Each of the 18 teams play a total of 34 matches throughout the season. Like the Premier League, the sides face each other twice, both home and away.

Promotions and relegations exist between the Saudi Pro League and the Saudi First Division League. The bottom three teams in the Pro League will be relegated to the second tier, whilst the top three-placed teams in the second tier will be promoted to the top flight.

The top two sides will automatically qualify for the group stages of the AFC Champions League, whilst the third-placed team will qualify for the competition's play-offs.

If, however, one of the top three wins the King Cup - Saudi Arabia's main domestic cup competition - the fourth-best team will also qualify for the play-offs. Like the UEFA Champions League, it is undergoing a format change in 2024/25.

Teams with the most Saudi Pro League titles

Al-Hilal have been the dominant force since the league's formation

The Saudi Pro League was founded in 1976, and was initially made up of eight teams. Al-Hilal were the first champions of the competition after finishing two points clear of runners-up Al-Nassr. The inaugural campaign saw teams play just 14 matches.

Now, the division has expanded to 18 sides and is littered with a plethora of high-profile European footballers, which is a far cry from what it once was.

Throughout its 47-year history, there have been seven different winners - here's how the numbers rack up:

The biggest rivalries in the Saudi Pro League

One game is dubbed the 'Saudi El Clasico'...

There are three games in the Saudi Pro League that are traditionally colossal affairs.

The 'Saudi El Clasico' between Al-Hilal and Al-Ittihad has developed into a hotly anticipated fixture as the two teams with the most titles collide. The former resides in the capital city of Riyadh whilst the latter are based in the Red Sea port of Jeddah.

Riyadh and Jeddah are the two largest cities in Saudi Arabia, so the two clubs have naturally often fought against each other for the league title over the years.

Unsurprisingly, the head-to-head meetings have seen Al-Hilal come out on top more often than not, with 47 wins to Al-Ittihad's 28.

The next meeting between the pair will take place on 7th March 2024 at Al-Hilal's King Fahd International Stadium, which also hosts international fixtures involving Saudi Arabia, with its previous tenants including Al-Shabab and Al-Nassr.

The Riyadh derby between Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr is also a huge game in that particular region, whilst Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, who are both based in Jeddah, is also a big fixture.

Players who joined the Saudi Pro League in the summer

Neymar completed an £85m move from PSG

The summer transfer window was one of the craziest yet. And that is largely due to the number of prominent European-based footballers leaving the continent to join the Saudi Pro League.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, joined the RSL at the end of 2022, and it appears that transfer was the catalyst for a number of high-calibre players to follow suit.

Al-Hilal signed Neymar Jr from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee believed to be in the region of €100m (£85.2m), whilst the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, Sadio Mané, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Ruben Neves, amongst many others, have also joined the division.

Read More: All The Major Saudi Pro League Transfers and Rumours

Al-Hilal also made a speculative effort to try and sign French forward Kylian Mbappé by submitting a £259m bid, but he reportedly rejected the proposal and looks set to stay in Paris, at least for another year.

Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrović was one of the latest big names to join the RSL after Al-Hilal secured his services for a fee believed to be in the region of £50m.

Mitrović joined with Moroccan World Cup hero Yassine Bounou, who also penned a deal at the Riyadh-based club, whilst former Atalanta centre-back Merih Demiral left Serie A to sign with Al-Ahli, who are spearheaded by Mahrez and Firmino.

21-year-old Gabri Veiga joined Demiral at Al-Ahli after he completed a €36m (£30.9m) move from LaLiga side Celta Vigo. The promising youngster had interest from multiple sides in the Premier League and in Europe but opted to make the switch to the Middle East.

Most expensive Saudi Pro League transfers of all time:

Latest Saudi Pro League news

Al-Ittihad have appointed Nuno Espirito Santo's successor

Al-Ittihad sacked Nuno Espirito Santo after his side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Iraqi club Al Quwa Al Jawiya in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League last month.

The Jeddah-based club appointed former River Plate manager Marcelo Gallardo, who left his post at the Argentine outfit last December, ending an eight-year tenure.

Latest Saudi Pro League results

Al-Hilal extend their lead at the top

League leaders Al-Hilal secured a 3-0 victory against second-placed Al-Nassr in The Riyadh Derby to extend their lead to seven points at the summit of the table.

Star-studded Al-Ahli put six past Abha to remain third whilst Gallardo picked up his first league victory managing the reigning champions Al-Ittihad as his side defeated Al-Khaleej 4-2.

Here's how the current standings lie after 15 games:

Top goalscorers in the Saudi Pro League

Four former Premier League players make up the top 10

Ronaldo remains top of the goalscoring charts despite blanking against Al-Hilal in the derby whilst ex-Fulham forward Mitrović netted a late brace to move two goals behind the Portuguese superstar.

Elsewhere, former Tottenham Hotspur forward Georges Kevin-N'Koudou scored a double and 2022 Ballon d'Or winner Benzema converted from the spot in his side's 4-2 win against Al-Khaleej to take his tally to nine for the season.

Latest Saudi Pro League fixtures

Action resumes on Thursday

Matchweek 16 commences on Thursday, 7th December, with Al-Ittihad in action against Damac whilst Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq take on 12th-placed Al-Shabab.

Table-toppers Al-Hilal make the trip to Al-Tai on Friday before Ronaldo's Al-Nassr play host to city neighbours Al-Riyadh later that evening.

Al-Ahli return to action on Saturday as they welcome relegation-threatened Al-Raed.