The Saudi soccer league kicks off on Friday after rampant spending on players drew global attention during the transfer market in Europe. Hundreds of millions of dollars from the reign’s immense oil wealth have been earmarked to further the Pro League’s ambition to become a top tournament.
About $1 billion was turned down when Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé declined to be part of the exodus.
Now is the time to watch football, to see what recent Champions League winners Karim Benzema, Sadio Mané and Riyad Mahrez can bring to the table. All three are following in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, whose signing in January opened the floodgates.
The league announced midweek a series of deals to broadcast the tournament to 18 clubs in 130 countries. The United States was not included. “The entire world will have front row seats to witness the transformation of Saudi football,” said Saad Allazeez, the interim CEO of the league.
Three of the nine matches on each date will be broadcast in Great Britain and Germany on the platforms of the streaming service DAZN, France’s Canal+ pay TV and five different organizations in China.
In North America, DAZN has the rights in Canada and TV Azteca in Mexico. Video reports from the league will be distributed by London-based SNTV, which is a joint project between The Associated Press and management agency IMG.
The acquisition of Cristiano by the Al Nassr club was a warning of the league’s intentions, although the Portuguese star is about to turn 38. He, too, was an exit option after his relationship with Manchester United soured in the run-up to the World Cup.
The big blow was felt in early June when reigning Ballon d’Or winner Benzema made the decision to leave Real Madrid after a glorious 14-year spell, signing with Al Ittihad.
That signing grabbed headlines in the last weekend of the European leagues, and was the preview of the dimension of the Saudis’ football project that was announced the next day.
With $7 billion of the Saudi oil fortune, the Public Investment Fund announced it would take control of the 75% of the shares of four clubs and encouraged “corporations and public sector organizations” invest in the clubs.
Essentially the clubs from the largest cities, Riyadh and Jeddah, were nationalized: Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal (the Asian champion club in 2019 and 2021 that was behind Messi and Mbappé) and Al Ahli. “The Pro League will be supported in its ambition to become one of the top ten leagues in the world”announced the national news agency.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, head of the public investment fund, has invested heavily in global sports, all as part of his plans to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil economy by 2030. It’s also seen as a way to whitewash his image and that of the kingdom for his human rights record.
Although the public investment fund has not been able to buy influence in soccer as it has in golf, it has been able to sign many players — not all in the twilight of their careers — with money that could not be offered elsewhere.
The largest amounts paid in transfers, up to US$60 million, have been for minor players who signed with Al Hilal: Malcom from Zenit St. Petersburg, Rúben Neves from Wolverhampton, and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio. At the moment, the English Premier League and UEFA – organizer of the Champions League – do not see a threat.
Cristiano is said to earn an annual salary of US$200 million and Benzema’s is US$100 million. They were big free-agent acquisitions, but the league has failed to attract a big-name manager.
Steven Gerrard will manage Ettifaq, but his bonuses fell apart after he was sacked by Aston Villa last year and he had initially ruled out the Saudi offer.
Abha hired Poland’s Czeslaw Michniewicz, who did not renew as his country’s coach after a lackluster World Cup.
Slaven Bilic, formerly of West Ham and the Croatian national team, was signed by Al Fateh last month. He returns to Saudi Arabia after being fired in 2019 by Al Ittidad. A FIFA judge stepped in to award Bilic $15 million in compensation for wages the club had claimed.
The attraction is not just money. Benzema, Mané and Mahrez have mentioned the importance of playing for a country with a Muslim faith.
“My mother is a Muslim like me”Mané said this week. “She was the first to vote for me to leave, and my whole family is delighted to come here, so it wasn’t that complicated.”
Mané is one of four Liverpool players who won the Champions League in 2019, along with Roberto Firmino, Fabinho – the youngest at 29 years old – and captain Jordan Henderson, who has been the most criticized because in the past he has expressed his support for the LGBTQ+ community. Saudi Arabia is a country that criminalizes same-sex relationships.
At a league event this week, Henderson pointed out that the hardest thing to adjust to is the weather. “The heat is very strong and it has been very difficult to adapt, but I did well in training”, Henderson said. “I enjoy it and I try to live this different experience, this culture and way of living and playing football.”
Temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) are forecast around 6 p.m., the scheduled time for three of the nine games this weekend.
Henderson and Ettifaq will host Cristiano and Al Nassr. The opening game on Friday will be Al Ahli-Al Hazm, one that will end minutes before the start of the Premier League with the clash between champions Manchester City against Burnley.
Mahrez, Firmino and Edouard Mendy, former Chelsea goalkeeper, would all make their debuts for Al Ahli. In Saudi Arabia, the league also serves as a stage for its national talent to consolidate after the surprising 2-1 victory against Messi and eventual champions Argentina in the last World Cup.
“Yes, we want to have a league that we can be proud of, provide entertainment to the whole world,” said the president of the Saudi soccer federation, Yasser Al Misehal. “But it also has to help the ambition of the national team at this time and in the future.”
Source: AP
Source: Gestion
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