Jamie Vardy has been heavily linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League but the Leicester City legend could be ‘blacklisted’ in line with a ruling implemented by the top brass.
On Thursday, days after Leicester City were relegated back down to the Championship, it was confirmed that Vardy will leave the Foxes after 13 seasons.
A £1 million signing from Fleetwood Town in 2012, he has scored 198 goals in 496 games and won the Premier League and FA Cup during a glittering stint at the King Power Stadium.
He will move on to pastures new when his deal officially expires in June but the former England international is not expected to retire from football and already has plenty of potential suitors.
The Sun say that he has lucrative offers on the table from the MLS and former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has already encouraged him to make that move.
But he is also being courted by clubs in Saudi Arabia, with one outlet even stating that he has one foot in the country.
A whole host of household names have moved to the Saudi Pro League in recent times, including Vardy’s former Leicester colleagues N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez.
In 2023, the Saudi Pro League director of football Michael Emenalo was pushing hard to sign Mo Salah and the New York Times revealed all about ground rules clubs had to adhere to.
It emerged that at one point, chiefs recommended clubs a list of 24 signings, most of which were European-based players who were in their early 30s and soon to be out of contract.
Any player who was set to earn more than $3 million (£2.29 million) needed to get approval by the league and there was also a strict policy introduced whereby teams would not be allowed to negotiate against one another, nor would a player or agent be allowed to use another club as a ‘bargaining chip’.
Jamie Vardy has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Image: Getty
If they were found to have done this in a bid to get a better salary, the player would be “immediately blacklisted”.
Jamie Vardy’s next club odds:
Vardy still has plenty of time to decide his next chapter and still has a further five games in a Leicester City shirt, including his final home game against Ipswich Town on 18 May.
Betfair have published odds relating to Vardy’s new club, with a move to the MLS deemed to be the most likely scenario at 5/2.
A switch to Saudi Arabia is 5/1, with Ryan Reynolds’ and Rob McElhenney’s Wrexham 8/1 to snap up Vardy in an incredibly ambitious deal.
Odds in full:
Any MLS Club 5/2
Any Saudi Arabian club 5/1
Wrexham 8/1
Birmingham 10/1
Burnley 20/1
