· 19 May 2025, 14:30
**Some football players are in the game to be the best, to win trophies and prove themselves on the biggest stage. Others are in it for the money.**
Newcastle United were at one point one of the frontrunners for one of the hottest young stars coming through the ranks in Spain, Gabri Veiga, but with the world at his feet and plenty of huge opportunities on the table, the youngster opted to go to the Saudi Pro League to play for Al-Ahli.
While there's nothing wrong with players heading to Saudi Arabia for a nice payday, most players tend to wait until the back end of their career to do so.
There's hardly any prestige in playing in a new league that nobody watches, so for a young player to go there was a head scratcher, and the only conclusion we can draw from it is that it was all about the money.
Gabri Veiga is on £200k-a-week at Al-Ahli
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However, despite his clear mercenary tendencies, it seems Newcastle aren't put off, and [Foot Mercato](https://www.footmercato.net/a1614035968206312258-al-ahli-gabri-veiga-sur-le-depart) believes that the Magpies will try and lure him away from Al-Ahli this summer.
The 22-year-old has seven goals and five assists this season in the Pro League, playing as an attacking midfielder, which isn't really getting us giddy if we're being honest. They aren't terrible numbers, but given his potential and the fact that he's about 10 years younger than every top player in that league, we'd expect more.
Veiga is currently on around £200k-a-week at Al-Ahli too, which puts him ahead of Bruno Guimaraes in our wage structure, so that makes a deal unlikely.
We're not as sold on Gabri Veiga as we one were
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We aren't opposed to signing Veiga. Indeed, when the rumours first started before his move from Celta to Al-Ahli, I had everything crossed that the deal could be done, but the shine is off the apple somewhat now, and those wages are insane.
Veiga has realised that playing in Saudi Arabia isn't going to get him noticed when it comes to being picked for Spain, so he could be open to a move to a more high-profile league, but he must be aware that he's going to have to take a significant pay cut to do so.
If we can negotiate that and a reasonable fee with the PIF-owned Al-Ahli, then who knows? Still, we aren't quite sure where he fits in our current system, unless Howe is warming to playing a number 10 after trying it in the last two games.