Saudi Arabia | Neymar | Saudi Arabia determined to transform football (and clean up its image) with its petrodollars Al Hilal | Cristiano Ronaldo | | the world

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At the age of 38, Cristiano Ronaldo He was the first megastar to settle in the desert. His decision was nothing short of surprising. At the end of their careers, many football players opt for the minor leagues. But that’s not all the Portuguese did. His media signing opened doors for others to continue playing in Europe.

Transfers were made only between July and August Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté – The best of N’Golo Kante, Odavio, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Coulibaly Dozens of other soccer players worth millions of dollars. The cherry on the cake arrived in Riyadh a few days ago: the Brazilian NeymarAl-Hilal club have paid Paris Saint-Germain €90 million and are offering them a juicy contract, a mansion, luxury cars and a series of high-profile options.

Thank you for your petrodollars, Saudi Arabia It has decided to bet on building competition by increasing the size of its league exponentially. But is that all? What is behind this strategy? Sports, business or politics?

Behind the millionaire investment the Saudis are making in soccer — nearly $900 million, in recent months alone — it must be shaped by Vision 2030, which has been laid out by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the years. He tries to present himself as a reformer seeking to modernize a country ruled by one of the world’s most conservative Muslim monarchies.

The task is not easy, especially from the point of view of Western countries. Especially in the Saudi state where women do not have full rights, homosexuality is condemned and freedom of expression is conditioned. In 2018, not forgetting the outrage caused by the murder and mutilation of “The Washington Post” journalist Jamal Khashoggi, allegedly ordered by bin Salman.

Vision 2030 seeks to diversify Saudi’s economy away from relying solely on oil, whose world consumption will reach its peak in 2040, as indicated by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Saudi Arabia is the leading exporter of black gold, and the clock is already ticking.

This diversification – which has been successfully implemented for decades by its Arab neighbors in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar – aims to increase tourism, become a business hub and attract investors. Unlike Emirates, Saudi Arabia It has an enormous landmass of 32 million people and two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, which represents great potential but also a huge challenge.

‘Men Power’ and ‘Sportwashing’

For Mohamed-Badin El Yattioui, a professor of international relations at the American University in the United Arab Emirates, the Saudis are looking for two things in their multimillion-dollar investment in soccer: “First, they want to develop a strategy. A footballer in the XXI century. Second, it is a ‘soft power’ strategy (or soft power) to project an image of an open country thanks to modernization and football.

and adds: “There is also a fundamental aspect, which is that they realize that the future of the football public is in Asia.”.

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar showed the world that an Arab country could host and win a sporting event, and controversies—such as the way they acquired the headquarters or the inhumane conditions for building the stadiums—resounded. Their moment, but when the games begin, scandals take place.

Football, the world’s most popular sport, is a great way to turn heads.

“It’s about ‘sportwashing’, which consists of cleaning your regime thanks to sport. Saudi Arabia At Qatar 2022, he saw how both FIFA and UEFA dropped any claims on the rights of women or the LGBT minority. All the controversy was there because money transcended values.Historian Jorge Illa, PHD in sports and politics and professor at UPC, tells El Comercio.

He ‘Sportwashing’ It is nothing new. Even the Nazis did it with the 1936 Olympic Games, as politics and sports fans’ interests have always been intertwined. In this case, the Saudi Arabians have many stones in their bag when it comes to human rights, persecution of enemies or abuses in the war in Yemen.

According to an investigation by the British newspaper “The Guardian”, the Saudi Kingdom has spent 6.3 trillion dollars on sports contracts since 2021, which is four times more than what was invested six years ago, and they plan to continue using the wallet.

“It is known that they are willing to invest about 50 billion dollars in sports in general and 20 billion dollars in football alone. This is completely new.”El Yattioui reveals to this newspaper.

Realizing that money can change the rules of another sport, golf, the Saudis have decided to perfect themselves in football. The iconic PGA, the American golf league, had to merge with LIV Golf (Saudi League), as the latter paid dozens of people in the field so much that they broke away from the PGA to play with the Arabs. .

“Actually, they have been doing this for years and during this time they have raised a lot of money and what they have done is changed their tactics. Instead of spending to buy clubs like English Newcastle, they have decided to invest and take players to their country. What has happened in golf is an opportunity to play again in football. In particular, it was a better league and reached better deals with UEFA.”indicates no.

Examples of China and USA

This revolutionized football The Saudis It reminded me of what happened at the time with China and the US, two superpowers who wanted to bet on football.

Starting in 2016, the Chinese league started making millionaire deals with the aim of raising the level, but the excitement didn’t last long. As for MLS, ‘soccer’ has yet to fully penetrate American fans, but their league is no longer narrow and increasingly competitive. Recently, Lionel Messi’s amazing deal has sparked interest again.

But there is a big difference in what Saudi Arabia has done, where the money for transfers is nothing less than the state. That is, football was nationalized, something that even the Chinese did not dare to do.

The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (a sovereign wealth fund owned by the state) has taken control of four of the Saudi Pro League’s biggest clubs: Al-Hilal, Al-Nasser, Al Ahly and Al Ittihad. . Thanks to this, they have signed a millionaire this season, considering nothing less than public policy. This means that it is the money of the Saudi citizens that pays the salaries of Neymar and others.

“China has tried, but they are just players and have no strategic vision. In Saudi Arabia, the PIF, like the armed wing of the Saudi government, is behind this vision. It’s not just about businessmen,” explains El Yatioi.

“It’s not just about players in the twilight of their careers. They recently hired 21-year-old Capri Vega, who was the star of Zelda de Vigo. The amount of money the Saudis have is incomparable. The question is how long they will maintain this hiring rate, that is yet to be known”, says Illa.

One of the crown prince’s most cherished ambitions is not only to make an impact on the world front, but also to establish himself as a power in the Middle East and the Middle East, taking Qatar as a model in the setting of the World Cup in 2030 or 2034. its own country.

“After the incident with Khashoggi, the crown prince wants to strengthen and improve his image before the West, but when it is his turn to become king he has to improve himself domestically and in front of his relatives, because not everyone accepts him. Heir from the beginning,” says El Yatioi.

“Through football, they seek to serve as a bridge between the Asian world, the Arab world and the Muslim world, as well as Western and European countries,” he concludes.

Mohammed bin Salman’s vision is, above all, to keep his people happy to reaffirm the existence of the monarchy, but also to clean up his image in front of the world by changing the forms that have always governed the football that Europe has so prized. The goal of elite players. Now, the road to Mecca is real.