Saudi club Al Nassr made headlines on Friday by snapping up Cristiano Ronaldo. With an income of 200 million euros a year, the superstar becomes the highest paid footballer ever. Behind the mega contract there is a master plan: Saudi Arabia wants to organize the World Cup in 2030.
On the day of Netherlands-Qatar at the World Cup in Qatar, the Saudi Minister of Tourism released a statement that once again shook the football world to its foundations.
“We are evaluating the possibility of bidding for the 2030 World Cup together with Greece and Egypt and we hope it will be a winning bid,” said Ahmed Al Khateeb. “The three countries want to invest heavily in infrastructure and would certainly be ready for that.”
These were claims that were met with disapproval, especially in Western Europe. At the time, the most controversial World Cup in history was taking place in Qatar. Partly due to the corruption of FIFA members, the tournament had gone to the oil state and hundreds or thousands of migrant workers had died making it possible.
Despite the European scorn, Ronaldo’s arrival at Al Nassr underlines that plans for a Saudi bid for the World Cup are serious, even if much is still unclear. The Portuguese receives an annual salary of 90 million euros. Thanks to commercials and sponsorships, the amount has risen to the magic limit of 200 million euros.
Texts from club president Musli Al Muammar at the presentation of the five-times world footballer of the year also made it clear that more is about to happen in Saudi Arabia. “This is much more than writing a historical chapter. Ronaldo is a role model for everyone. He inspires not only our club, but also the league, the country and future generations.”
Clubprofiel Al Nassr
- Opgericht: 1955
- Plaats: Riyad (hoofdstad)
- Trainer: Rudi Garcia (Fransman)
- Stadion: King Saud University Stadium (25.000 plekken)
- Erelijst: negen landstitels en enkelvoudig finalist bij de Aziatische Champions League (1995)
Saudi Arabia is copying Qatar
Saudi Arabia’s approach shows many parallels to Qatar’s in the years following the World Cup award. Qatari clubs, among others, snapped up Xavi and Wesley Sneijder after getting the tournament organised. The goal was to get their football league off the ground and improve Qatari players.
Saudi Arabia also chooses great models to promote the country. Ronaldo’s perennial rival Lionel Messi was hired in May this year for just under 30 million euros a year as an ambassador for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s questionable regime.
Qatar bought Paris Saint-Germain to increase its power in the sporting world, Saudi Arabia did it in October last year by taking over Newcastle United for 350 million euros. The cash injection brought instant success: Newcastle are currently third in the Premier League.
And it’s not just football. A Formula 1 race has been held in Saudi Arabia since 2021, with Lewis Hamilton (2021) and Max Verstappen (2022) as the proud winners. The country has launched the questionable LIV Golf tour with a sovereign wealth fund, which has divided the golfing world. Several notable boxing matches have also taken place in recent years, such as that of Anthony Joshua.
Saudis do ‘sports wash’ too
All this is also called “sports washing” – using sports to polish a dubious image in the world. In Saudi Arabia, according to the human rights organization Amnesty International, there is much wrong with human rights.
In the country, freedom of expression is second Amnesty severely restricted, executions are carried out, unfair trials take place, and women have far fewer rights than men.
Famous is the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. He was killed in Istanbul by a Saudi assassination team after criticizing the regime. Crown Prince Bin Salman acknowledged co-responsibility in 2019.
After sharp criticism of the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar, FIFA imposed human rights conditions on World Cup bids. KNVB Secretary General Gijs de Jong therefore believes that the possibility “is not great” of Saudi Arabia receiving the World Cup staging. “And if nothing changes in that area, the KNVB certainly won’t vote for them,” he said during the World Cup in Qatar.
World Cup stunt strengthens Saudi Arabia’s mission
The new rules do not seem to discourage Saudi Arabia from taking control of the organization of the World Cup. The World Cup in Qatar will have been a driving force for Crown Prince Bin Salman to bring the world finals to his country.
Saudi Arabia pulled off one of the greatest feats ever in the World Cup by beating Messi’s Argentina 2-1. It was the only loss for the Argentines en route to their third world title. The sensation was widely celebrated in Saudi Arabia. A national holiday was declared and the players were greeted as heroes following their elimination in the group stage.
Football is also much more alive in Saudi Arabia than in Qatar. At matches of the Saudi Professional League, an average of ten thousand people sit in the stands. The biggest match between Ittihad Club and Al Wehda in October was attended by 35,000 people, according to the Saudi Football Federation.
Money isn’t the issue for the biggest oil exporter on the planet either. Al Nassr, one of Saudi Arabia’s most successful clubs, hopes to reunite Ronaldo with his former teammate Sergio Ramos soon. And all this in order to host the biggest soccer stars at the biggest sports tournament in the world in 2030.
