Pep Guardiola has admitted clubs must be "aware of what is happening" as Saudi Arabian clubs continue to sign players from the Premier League and other major divisions.
A number of Premier League stars have now swapped England for Saudi Arabia,
The exodus of big-name players to the Saudi Pro League only looks set to continue in the coming weeks, affecting the strength in depth of various English top-flight teams.
Guardiola believes there is the potential for long-term, damaging consequences for the likes of City and Liverpool.
Guardiola:
"It is not about the threat, it is a reality," he said. "They [Saudi Arabia] want to create a strong league and so far they are the league who can do it.
"The Premier League spent more than the other because the organisation of the Premier League is better and the broadcasts and the sponsors are higher than the other leagues, so the clubs can spend what they have.
"Right now, the Saudi league, I don’t know how long they will sustain that but the feeling is that they will stay. I would say the players want to take this experience to play in that league and they are able to do it.
"Saudi Arabia has changed the market. A few months ago, when Cristiano [Ronaldo] was the only one to go, no-one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league. In the future there will be more and that’s why clubs need to be aware of what is happening. Riyad got an incredible offer [from Al-Ahli] and that’s why we could not say, ‘don’t do it’.”
"We are not looking for a replacement of Riyad in terms of skill because every player is different. We will see what happens with loan players and which players stay here. A few things are going to happen."
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