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The story
According to German media reports, Saudi Arabian powerhouse Al-Ittihad has reportedly approached Japan national team midfielder Ritsu Doan (Eintracht Frankfurt) about a move, prepared to offer an €18 million transfer fee and a multi-year deal worth €9 million a year (roughly ¥1.67 billion). Frankfurt manager Adolf Hütter has pushed back against the idea, saying “Ritsu is indispensable to this team,” and the talks are said to still be in an early stage. On 5ch, discussion centered on the tax gap — some pointed out that Saudi Arabia has no income tax, meaning far higher take-home pay than in Germany, with comments like “he’s 28, he should cash in while he can,” while others were wary of a Middle East move so close to a World Cup, and the thread ended up revolving mostly around the tax-system differences.
An intriguing report about the Japan national team’s number 10 is making waves. On August 27 local time, several German outlets including satellite broadcaster SKY reported that Saudi Pro League powerhouse Al-Ittihad is moving to sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Japan international midfielder Ritsu Doan.
The behind-the-scenes talks surfaced just before Europe’s transfer window closes. That said, according to SKY, negotiations between Doan’s camp and Al-Ittihad are still at an early stage, and no formal offer or agreement between the clubs has been reached. Frankfurt manager Adolf Hütter objected, saying “Of course I don’t want that,” and pressed for him to stay: “Ritsu is a very important player for this team and carries a key role. For me he’s an absolute mainstay, a player who can make the difference.”
Still, with France international forward Moussa Diaby’s return to former club Bayer Leverkusen looking imminent, Al-Ittihad is scrambling to fill the gap out wide. Doan has reportedly been shortlisted, with the club prepared to offer an €18 million transfer fee (roughly ¥3.34 billion) and a multi-year contract worth €9 million a year (roughly ¥1.67 billion).
Source: cocokara-next.com / Original article here
What people said
None. His ¥1.6 billion in Germany gets cut roughly in half by taxes, down to about ¥800 million, but the ¥1.6 billion in Saudi basically stays intact — you just pay VAT like a sales tax when you buy things, no income tax, no social insurance at all.
Then Japan would just take a huge cut instead — the foreign tax credit only kicks in if you're actually taxed where you work, so if Saudi doesn't tax him, Japan taxes him hard.
I think he will make it, honestly — the next generation just isn't developing.
Weak… Ronaldo makes more than triple what Ohtani does though?
Factor in taxes: Ohtani, ¥10bn salary → ¥5bn take-home. Cristiano Ronaldo, ¥30bn salary → stays ¥30bn. That's a 6x gap……
So what's your salary then? (lol)
Because it's now obvious he's peaked as just a mid-table player in Germany.
He couldn't do anything at the World Cup even at his peak, so Saudi sounds fine to me.
He'd need the seed money to build the Doan empire first lol
Effectively ¥3.2 billion…… turning that down would take some real guts.
Ronaldo's salary alone >>> the combined salaries of every Dodgers player.
Come to think of it, Ronaldo gets that amount completely tax-free too……… that's just a different dimension.
There's something romantic about chasing the top of world football.
https://jp.reuters.com/article/life/sports/-idUSKBN2YU05R/
Football: Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr banned from registering players over unpaid-wages issue
And you're bragging about salaries from that league? lol
Don't brag about salaries from a team that doesn't even pay its players lmao
What's the point comparing an oil league to a non-oil one?
Right, because baseball's boring so oil money won't flow there. (note: "やきう" is a deliberately childish, mocking spelling of "野球"/baseball used to belittle the sport)
What does having oil have to do with any of this???
Al-Ittihad isn't comparable to some random lower-table club though.
Over the last 10 games of the World Cup Asian final qualifiers, Japan scored 30 goals total — but Doan, who started basically every game, had 0 goals and 1 assist. Ito and Kubo, on the same right flank, actually delivered numbers. Ito was even the top assist provider in Asian qualifying.
Because Saudi has no taxes.
In Germany taxes eat into it so take-home is probably around ¥500 million. If it triples like that, it's plenty worth moving to the Middle East for.
Shall we compare how many people actually play soccer versus baseball worldwide?
https://jp.reuters.com/article/life/sports/-idUSKBN2YU05R/
Football: Ronaldo's club Al-Nassr banned from registering players over unpaid-wages issue
Soccer salaries don't even get paid properly half the time lol
Background and key points of this discussion
Saudi Arabia levies no income tax or social insurance contributions, creating a huge gap in take-home pay compared to playing in Europe. Many in the thread noted that the reported €9 million annual salary would be worth even more once Germany’s high tax rates are factored in. At the same time, with Doan at 28 and at a career crossroads, opinion was split on whether a Middle East move so close to a World Cup would help or hurt him competitively. Some commenters brought up the unpaid-wages issue at Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr, but that case dates back to 2023 and is reported to have already been resolved — worth noting it has no direct bearing on Al-Ittihad’s finances. Talks between Doan’s camp and the club remain at an early stage, with no formal agreement or figures confirmed.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Soccer] Saudi giants reportedly make Ritsu Doan a “sky-high offer” worth over ¥1.6 billion a year — German media report possible shock transfer“.
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