The League of Saudi Arabia it has revolutionized the transfer market this summer and has become a threat to European football. The petrodollars of the Saudi monarchy are taking the best players in the world and, unlike what happened with the Chinese Super League, their medium term plan is to turn their League into one of the best in the world. Upon arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, other Legends have joined Neymar o Benzema, causing madness among the country's fans and putting the Saudi League in the focus of the entire world.
But where does Saudi Arabia's interest in sports come from? Where does so much money come from? Will it be sustainable in the long term? We will talk about all this in this Football Report article.
Saudi Arabia it is one of the most powerful countries in the Middle East and is governed by the absolutist monarchy of Salman bin Abdulaziz. The Arab country is the second largest oil producer in the world, which has given it great economic capacity that has transformed the country in less than a century. That inhospitable place full of sand that was on its way to the sacred city of Mecca has become an immensely rich nation thanks to black gold.
However, the Saudis know that they can not depend on oil forever, so in 2016, they decided to change their economic strategy. The Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, created the program Saudi Vision 2030; which establishes a strategic framework to reduce its dependence on oil to diversify its resources in other sectors such as transportation, tourism, renewable energy, robotics and entertainment.
Sport as a Showcase
To carry out its strategy, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia created the PIF (Public Investment Fund), which is nothing more than an economic fund of more than 600 million dollars aimed at boosting its economy through entertainment and sports.
This concept is usually known as Sportwashing and has previously been used successfully by other countries such as Qatar, which was able to organize the last World Cup despite its lack of respect for human rights.
Saudi Arabia's objective is exactly the same, which is why it wants to transform its image of a country that does not respect human rights and has set itself the mission to organize the 2034 World Cup. That would be the culmination of a project in which, for more than a decade, they will invest millions of euros to organize sporting events that improve their image. Among its most important investments during these years is the purchase of Newcastle (from the Premier League), the creation of an international Golf league, or the organization of events such as the Spanish Super Cup or the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah.
But, these events are only part of the first part of the plan, since the objective they have set is to create a product that keeps the country in the constant focus of the world throughout the year. The chosen route is the Saudi Pro League, a professional league that, although it already existed, was not attractive enough to generate international interest.
Transform the League
For the national championship to become relevant, the Saudi Kingdom bought 75% of the shares of the four best teams in the League (Al Hilal, Al Ittihad, Al Nassr and Al Ahli), which in addition to being the most historic are the causes to generate 86% of the total income of the championship.
Its execution plan included 3 main objectives:
1- Have 100 of the best players in the world playing in the League for the next 5 years
2- Position the Saudi League among the 10 best on the planet (currently ranked 58th)
3- Quadruple the League's income for 2030, going from the 120 million they generated in 2022 to 480 million dollars.
Cristiano Ronaldo as an Icon
To carry out its plans, Saudi Arabia needed to attract the main stars on the planet, and what better way than to sign one of the icons of World football. The Saudis seduced Cristiano Ronaldo with a contract 200 million euros per season, causing an immediate impact throughout the world and generating an army of new fans who would follow the adventures of the Portuguese star in Saudi Arabia.
To provide information on the impact of CR7's arrival at Al Nassr, the club's Instagram account went from having 800 thousand followers to the almost 20 million followers who currently follow the account.
Millionaire Signings
Since the arrival of the '7', the Saudi league has become an attraction for many renowned players, who this summer have headed to the Middle East league. The Saudi state has spared no expense and has invested more than 956 million euros in signings this season, only behind the almighty English Premier League (which has spent 2.74 billion)
AL HILAL
The team in which the most money has been invested has been in the Al-Hilal, the most successful club in the Saudi league and which has spent more than 350 million euros to sign players like Koulibaly, Malcom, Rúben Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Bono or the Brazilian Neymar, which ended up starring in the most expensive transfer in the league with an investment of 90 million euros.
AL AHLI
The second club with the greatest investment in signings has been Al Ahli, a historic club that has celebrated its return to the professional league by spending almost 200 euros on signings. Among his best additions are super established footballers such as Riyad Mahrez, Roger Ibañez, Allan Saint-Maximin, Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessié, Roberto Firmino or the promising Spanish playmaker Gabri Veiga, which arrives in Arabia when he is only 21 years old and at a cost of 40 million euros.
AL NASRR
In third place in the spending ranking is Al Nassr, which, after signing Cristiano Ronaldo, has incorporated five other high-level footballers. In addition to signing the Portuguese Luis Castro for the bench, the Riyadh club it has invested 140 million euros in Seko Fofana, Marcelo Brozovic, Alex Telles, Sadio Mané and Otávio, which has been his most expensive signing with an investment of 60 'kilos'.
AL ITTIHAD
Al Ittihad has invested almost 120 million, which, after winning last year's league, has brought in five brilliant players. Fabinho and Luiz Felipe and the Portuguese 'Jota' will accompany the frenchmen N'Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema, who have arrived free after ending his contracts with Chelsea and Real Madrid. The presence of the current Ballon d'Or in the Saudi League caused madness in the city of Jeddah and shows a change in the panorama in current football.
Other Signings
Other interesting signings of the RSL have been those of Carrasco for the Shabbab, in exchange for 20 million, or those of Herdenson, Wijnaldum, or Moussa Dembélé for an Al Ittifaq directed by Steven Gerrard.
And Saudi Arabia has also invested a lot of money in recruiting established coaches in Europe, as may be the case with Portuguese coaches; Nuno EspÃrito Santo (Al Ittihad), Jorge Jesús (Al Hilal) or LuÃs Castro (Al-Nassr).
A Threat to the European Leagues
A few months ago it seemed impossible for these types of stars to go play in Arabia at the height of their careers, but the high salaries offered by the Saudi monarchy far exceed what European teams can afford.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema top the list of the highest paid with a payroll of 200 million euros per season, while Neymar and Kanté reach 100 kilos. Gone are the 40 million of Mané and Henderson, the 35 of Mahrez, or the 30 of Koulibaly, who are still in the top 10 of the highest paid footballers in the world.
The player who earns the most away from the Saudi league is Mbappé; who earns about 70 million per year at PSG and who, according to French media, rejected 700 million euros in salary for playing in the Saudi league this summer. Another who did not go to Arabia was Messi, who currently earns 45 at Inter Miami and declined an offer of 400 kilos to play for Al Hilal.
A New Business
With these dizzying offers on the table, it can not be denied that European football faces a great competitor, which threatens to recruit many more stars to boost its league.
In fact, this meteor shower has attracted numerous sponsoring companies, causing the change of the naming from the competition to the Roshin Saudi League and generating a business flow for the country that has just begun.
With the arrival of these signings, the Saudi League has managed to sell its image rights all over the world, and although what is economically perceived is still far from that of the big leagues, it has managed to establish its product throughout the world to attract new fans of progressively.
Beyond funding the League based on real banknotes, the objective of GDP is to attract foreign capital to invest in the rest of the clubs and see the RSL as a profitable product in the long term.
Whether we like to admit it or not, their strategy of attracting talent is working, and their impact on the world of football is a fact. Some of the best players in the world are already playing there, but their aspirations remain ambitious and will continue to attract talent in order to put Saudi Arabia in the focus of the entire world. In fact, the intention of the Saudi League is to convince UEFA for the Arab champion to play in the Champions League. At the moment, he does not have the approval, but we already know that based on money, his arguments can be much more convincing.
What remains to be seen is whether this rain of million dollar signings is sustainable in the long term, since no matter how many foreign players buy, a League can only be great in the long term if it enhances its national talent. That is, in parallel with its investments in big stars, the Saudi League should invest in infrastructure to improve the competitiveness of its youngest players and improve its youth teams.
And you, what do you think? Do you think Saudi Arabia will end up becoming one of the best leagues on the planet, or do you think it is a passing fad that will end up failing like the Chinese Super League? I would like to know your opinion, like if you liked the video, share it with your friends and subscribe to Memories of Football.
Where to watch the Saudi Pro League online live: TV and streaming in Spain in 2023
The three best games of each day in the 2023/24 Saudi Pro League season are that they can be seen through MARCA.com in Spain and Andorra.