Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr brought a revolution to the Saudi Pro League
Ronaldo’s December decision to join Al-Nassr has paved the door for more of the world’s top players to visit the country.
N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, and Aymeric Laporte have joined Benzema and Neymar as high-profile additions to a league that was previously unknown outside of the region.
Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe had failed tries.
The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund has taken a controlling stake in four of the kingdom’s biggest clubs, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr, and Al Hilal.
The inroads into sports are being framed as part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to use the kingdom’s oil wealth to create new jobs and opportunities for the country’s youth.
While some have called it “sportswashing,” Yannick Carrasco, who recently joined Al Shabab from Atlético Madrid, defended Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
“I see how women live there, and how people go about their lives,” he said during a news conference with Belgium’s national team. “Honestly, it is a beautiful country. It is hard to judge if you only listen to what people say about it. You have to experience it yourself.”
UN human rights experts, on the other hand, chastised Saudi Arabia in July for incarcerating two women for tweeting criticism of the kingdom’s policies.
In addition to its efforts to enhance its domestic league, Saudi Arabia has a foot in the Premier League after PIF purchased Newcastle United in 2021, with its financial assistance allowing the club to qualify for the Champions League this season.
There is also speculation that Saudi Arabia will bid to host the 2030 World Cup for men’s soccer. After joining Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain, Neymar proved to be the biggest acquisition of the window.
Al Hilal is Saudi Arabia’s most successful club, having won the league title 18 times and the Asian Champions League four times. It has previously missed out on Messi, who signed with MLS team Inter Miami, and made a record $332 million bid for Mbappe.
Al Hilal also signed Yassine Bounou, Kalidou Koulibaly, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Ruben Neves, and Aleksandar Mitrovic in addition to Neymar.
Mane, Otavio, Marcelo Brozovic, Laporte, and Alex Telles have all joined Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
Al-Ittihad, the reigning Saudi champion, signed Benzema, Kante, and Fabinho before signing Felipe on deadline day.
Firmino, Mahrez, Allan Saint-Maximin, Edouard Mendy, Franck Kessie, and Gabri Veiga were all signed by Al-Ahli.
Al-Ettifaq hired former Rangers and Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard as coach, as well as ex-Liverpool captain Henderson, before signing Gray before the transfer window ended.
