Allan Saint-Maximin has completed his transfer from Newcastle United to Al Ahli.
The Athletic reported on Friday that all the paperwork had been finalized ahead of his proposed move in a deal approaching $30 million.
The winger has signed a three-year contract with Al Ahli.
Saint-Maximin had been in discussions with Al Ahli over the transfer and was not included in the Newcastle squad for last week’s 2-1 pre-season friendly victory over Rangers. Head coach Eddie Howe confirmed that the 26-year-old was in talks with another team.
The Athletic reported last week that several clubs plan to raise concerns with the Premier League regarding the move. The deal is between two teams under the same majority ownership — Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
If Al Ahli were UEFA-affiliated, the possibility would be blocked due to new multi-club ownership rules introduced earlier this month.
Premier League regulations now require all transactions above the cost of £1 million — whether or not they involve associated parties — to be checked to ensure they do not exceed “market value.”
Several English top-flight teams claim that the PIF link is being used to inflate Saint-Maximin’s apparent fee and disguise an injection of capital as a transfer fee, in order to help Newcastle comply with financial fair play rules.
Newcastle is very comfortable with their valuation of 26-year-old Saint-Maximin.
Speaking after the Rangers game last week, Howe said Newcastle is reluctant to lose Saint-Maximin but their need to sell is due to financial fair play regulations.
“Maxi is the player that’s generating the interest,” he said. “FFP is a new dynamic which really came to the fore after my first window here when we knew it would impact us.
“Player trading is a key part of it — you can’t hit it, if you don’t trade. We’re forced to trade a player this window. If the deal didn’t go through, I’d be delighted. It would obviously impact our ability to bring in any more players, and then we potentially might have to sell another player. That’s the way that Financial Fair Play has hit us.”
This summer, Newcastle has signed Sandro Tonali from AC Milan for €60 million (£52.1m; $67.1m), Harvey Barnes from Leicester City for £38 million, and teenager Yankuba Minteh from Odense for £6 million.
Across last season, Newcastle bought Alexander Isak, Sven Botman, Matt Targett, Anthony Gordon, Nick Pope, and Harrison Ashby.
The Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules — the official name for their FFP regulations — permit cumulative pre-tax losses of £105 million over three years. UEFA’s regulations, now relevant to Newcastle after they secured Champions League football last season, are stricter and only allow £25.4 million losses over a three-year period.