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England international Ollie Watkins' wife, Ellie, has fled Saudi Arabia with their children following Houthi missile attacks that rocked the nation. Watkins left Aston Villa to sign for Al-Hilal in a £50million transfer believed to be worth £20m annually for the player, tax-free. However, Ellie has opted to fly back to the UK with their daughter Amara (5) and son Marley (3) amid the renewed escalation of hostilities between the Yemen-based Houthis and the Saudis.
In October, 13 people died in a Houthi air assault on Riyadh's airport. Two others also died in a separate strike at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. The Saudis have since been running reduced operations following the missile bombardments.
Amid the violence, Ellie revealed that she has decided to fly home to the UK with their children. In a message on TikTok, she said: "We've had a bit of a plot twist. I have come back to the UK for, hopefully, a little bit.
"I don't actually know when. There's just a little bit of conflict and things going on over in Saudi and we basically decided just to stay here until it calms down I felt like I needed to do that for the kids so there is some form of normality until we can get back out there and all be together."
There is equally no indication that Watkins will be returning to the UK anytime soon, unless he receives an England call-up during the forthcoming international break.
Watkins may well fancy his chances of earning a place in Thomas Tuchel's squad, having hit the ground running this season with five goals and five assists in just eight Saudi Pro League outings. Tuchel also handed Ivan Toney a place in last summer's World Cup squad, despite his move to Saudi outfit Al-Ahli.
For Watkins' club, it remains business as usual. However, regional instability has forced the Asian Cup, due to run from January 7 to February 5, to be postponed on security grounds.
Saudi Arabia had been earmarked as the tournament's host nation, but the competition has now been pushed back to December 23, 2027 to January 21, 2028.
In an official statement, the Asian Football Confederation said: "The Organising Committee for AFC Asian Cup approved to reschedule the flagship national team tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions.
"The new dates of the tournament will be presented to FIFA for approval. Exceptional circumstances have been created for the organisation and delivery of the Competition as originally scheduled, making the postponement necessary in the interest of all participating teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders."
The nation has also cancelled the Six Kings Slam tennis exhibition tournament. Furthermore, F1 may relocate its season-ending races, scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi, though no official announcement has been made.
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