Souffian El Karouani is Benfica's new signing. The Moroccan left-back was signed by Al Qadsiah from Saudi Arabia during this transfer window, but ended up being loaned to the eagles without even playing a single minute for the Saudi club. The lightning-fast transfer generated controversy and drew criticism from Arnold Bruggink, a former Dutch forward.
Bruggink, who represented PSV between 1997 and 2003, spoke about the case to ESPN Netherlands. The former footballer criticized the market model he considered increasingly frequent in football, stating that players are treated as commodities and that short-termism dominates decision-making.
"Barring the fact that he is financially well off, you end up being treated as a commodity. Short-term thinking rules. It's amateurism and I don't like it," Bruggink stated, showing his displeasure with the situation experienced by the Moroccan player.
The former PSV forward went even further in his criticism, classifying the situation as "almost human trafficking," referring to the entire process involved in this type of rapid transfer between clubs.
