Alwaght- Less than two weeks after end of the Qatar World Cup, in neighboring Saudi Arabia a football news report made a splash as Saudi media reported that football star Christiano Ronaldo joined Saudi club Al Nassr under a 2.5-year contract with annual €200 million ($214.53 million) pay to play in Asian Champions League.
Although Ronaldo seemed too snobbish to accept his decline in this situation and be willing to migrate to lower-profile leagues like the Arab leagues or MLS like other stars of recent years, without any doubt the heavy financial offer of the Saudis can be tempting for anyone.
Gossips about the historic transfer for Saudi and Asian football emerged since the beginning of the Qatar World Cup, but nobody believed them, until Saudi news network Al Arabiya broke the news about finalizing a 2.5-year contract. Confirmations ensued by other Arab outlets. According to reports, Ronaldo’s contract with the Saudis is valid until 2025 and the salary will be close to €200 million per year, and commercial deals will also be included in this package.
Keeping up with the Qataris
Saudi Arabian football clubs do not generate that much income and are mainly dependent on the government, therefore, the Saudi regime is trying to maximize its advertising advantage of sports teams, especially football clubs.
An important point is that the announcement of the lucrative contract of the Saudis with a football player like Ronaldo can be a kind of advertisement for Riyadh. Riyadh is trying hard to present sports image of itself in competition with Qatar after the Qatar World Cup, and now the huge sum it is set to pay to the Portuguese football star is to meant to satisfy the thirst of the Saudis to some extent.
Hidden goals behind Saudi investment in sports
Saudi Arabia has stepped up its moves to overtake Qatar and the UAE as Persian Gulf cultural, tourist, and geostrategic hub, and recently has been challenging its smaller neighbors to rise as the region’s biggest sports and athletic destination, especially after Qatar World Cup.
On the other hand, there are conflicting reports about the Saudis’ bid to host the 2030 World Cup. While it was previously announced that Saudi Arabia is planning to make a bid along with Egypt and Greece to jointly host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, recently, Etihad Al-Riyadhi sports news website of the UAE reported that the Saudis do not think about being joint host of 2030 FIFA World Cup. Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia denied the proposal of joint hosting of the 2030 World Cup with Egypt and Greece and emphasized that this issue will not be discussed, the Emirati website added.
Still, the pay agreed upon with Ronaldo proved that the Saudis are counting on sports to distract global public opinion from their actions and this is driving them to invest heavily in sports. Actually, the focus of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on global sports activities is in line with hidden goals, including diverting the attention of unemployed youths in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia thinks that through sports industry and rivalry with Qatar, it can mend its image that was largely tarnished by human rights abuses including the assassination of outspoken bin Salman critic and prominent author Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018. In a report, the rights advocacy group Grant Liberty addressed the huge expenses of the Saudi Arabian government in holding sports competitions and considered it a measure to repair Saudi Arabia’s black human rights record.
Saudi sportswashing
The Saudi regime spent at least $1.5 billion on high-profile international sports events over the past year under a ‘sportswashing’ campaign to whitewash its damaged picture worldwide.
The sportswashing is a term coined recently to refer to such activities as money laundering by the states and organizations using the capacities of sports for their political, cultural, and strategic goals. An example of this concept can also be seen in sports, especially football, where the Persian Gulf monarchies are busy working and spending considerable sums.
The Saudis and mainly the crown prince have made various moves for investments in the sports, including buying shares in some European football clubs like Newcastle and Inter Millan, as well as hosting world sports events like World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and these efforts are just part of the Saudi sportswashing to mend its international image.
