Why Saudi Arabia Is Betting Big On Soccer And Cristiano Ronaldo
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- čas přidán 14. 06. 2024
- Soccer in Saudi Arabia has entered a new era - the era of having global superstars play on Saudi turf.
The 31-year-old Brazilian soccer star Neymar just became the latest addition to the now star-studded Pro League, which also includes five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are among the most popular players in the world," said Fahad Nazer, spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in the U.S., in an interview with CNBC. "This is what we're doing by bringing household names like that to the Saudi league. We are elevating the level of play."
Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, is the financial vehicle driving these high-priced transactions. Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, chairs the PIF board.
In June, the PIF took over the country's four major domestic clubs: Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli.
"Saudi Pro League is the top men's professional soccer league in Saudi Arabia." said Stefan Szymanski, professor of sport management at the University of Michigan. "So, like most countries, they have a national league that is popular, and people follow. And what's happening here is that the government, through the investment fund, is channeling money into the clubs so that they can acquire players."
Saudi Arabia's love for soccer is not limited to the domestic league. In 2021, the PIF bought a majority stake in the English soccer club Newcastle United. Critics argue that Saudi Arabia is using sports to distract from human rights abuses in the country, a term known as "sportswashing." The Saudi government is notorious for its crackdown on dissent and harsh punishments for criminals, including executions.
"Sportswashing is essentially synonymous with trying to cleanse image and reputation," said Simon Chadwick, professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the Skema Business School. "And clearly, Saudi Arabia is a country that, over recent decades, has had a particular reputation. Often not a good one. In some cases, very negative."
Watch the video above to find out why Saudi Arabia is doubling down its investment in professional soccer and more.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
01:09 - The Public Investment Fund and soccer
03:00 - Competition with Europe's top leagues
05:12 - 'Sportswashing' and Saudi soccer
08:46 - What’s next?
Produced and Edited by: Anuz Thapa
Narration by: Jordan Smith
Animation: Jason Reginato and Josh Kalven
Supervising Producer: Jeff Morganteen
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Why Saudi Arabia Is Betting Big On Soccer And Cristiano Ronaldo
It is clear how Saudi Arabia has changed its policy and shifts to investing in many sectors, including sport. The results may take time, but eventually, there will be drastic changes.
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I mean, if I had an infinite money glitch, I’d buy football players too 😂
It’s about covering up their image as a Terrorist nation.
@@blackout07bluebro what there not terrorist nation go learn what terrorist means
@@blackout07bluethey are coming from terrorist nations to other terrorist nation what is difference?
I'm grateful that Allah has blessed them with hidden wealth, and I really hope they use it to care themselves and for the rest of the world in a better manner the football budget is not much but they will be top 5 leagues if they are not already.
@@LakerKnightoil
The money is going into 🗑️
In your imagination, no one will value you if you don't have money
You can smell the hypocrisy from a mile away.
The future is hazy for Saudi Pro League. Most of the players that Saudi acquired were on their mid-careers already they’re almost past their prime. They should invest more on their grassroots local players instead of aggressively signing western prime-passing players
Those mid career players were not brought to just elevate the league's perfoemance. The main reason why they're there is so that younger players will be more attracted to the idea of going there. They are just a stepping stone.
Lies again? Marine Soldier Arabic Text
@@bedroo222222 any young players from europe followed what happened to mbappe 😂😂? how much did you bid for him still wouldnt come the truth , European leagues have too much to offer prestgious teams with rich history over a saudhi pro league which one would you choose
over 30 players is the best saudhi will do going forward
Saudi economic decisions are not about which business generates most profit, but which business generates most news headlines then maybe turn those into profit. Hence all the mega-super-crazy-expensive projects all around the country, from constructions, to entertainments and sports
Current population of Saudi Arabia 37, 090, 840
The fastest growing population of any middle eastern country.
18 million people are immigrants from other countries increasing diversity.
97% of the country is Muslim & 3% other religions (Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, etc)
63% of population is under 30 years old ? Wow !
This is simply an indication of which players have decided to end their careers. It's purely motivated by money and nothing else. We saw a similar trend in the Chinese league during the mid to late 2010s, although it involved less well-known players compared to Ronaldo, Neymar, and others. The underlying concept, however, remains the same and is likely to be unsuccessful
We saw it in the Qatari League too, with Xavi, and in the UAE with Cannavaro, and don’t forget Maradona coaching.
Joining Manchester United or City from overseas is also motivated by MONEY. You are jealous.
Isn’t what almost all of them do when they move between clubs?
I disagree, the Saudi Pro League is going to attract much more serious attention. The statistics support this and numbers don't lie
The comparison with the Chinese situation is not correct. Saudi Arabia already has passion for soccer and its the number 1 sport in the country unlike China. They are one of the best nations in Asia in terms of clubs and national teams. They frequently qualify for big events such as the club world cup and the world cup. The goal for China was to promote the sport, but for Saudi Arabia is to elevate the already successful sport regionally to the world stage.
Many big football clubs like ManUtd, Barca, Madrid are no longer profitable. Despite of high revenue they are losing money due to the high player's salary. The merchandise sales, broadcasting, etc are all maxout. The Saudis wont be able to take the market share from european leagues, unless they go through the 100 years growing pain like european clubs.
I think the Saudis actually have a possibility of making money on these investments. Saudi is like the luxury destination for most of the Muslim world and APAC in general. Many people in those areas would never travel to Europe for a soccer game but they have posters of Messi, etc. on their walls their whole lives. If Saudi can parlay these investments into being a sort of vacation destination for the Muslim world, it'll pay off tremendously. Tons and tons of well off people in the APAc region go to Dubai right now for tourism purposes. If Saudi can grab that and avoid Dubai's lax reputation in Muslim eyes (allowing drinking, provocative women, etc.) they could go far.
ManU and Barcelona yes, Madrid no. Madrid has had more than 12 uninterrupted years of profit
Saudis money is in their wells, they just get a bucket, fetch and have money in their banks. Its that simple. For them to fall, you have to wait for the Wells to dry.
for players its all about money, as soon as Saudi stops spending this will all collapse (just like the Chinese super league). Saudi will never compete in the champions league and get near the European level. Even MLS and J-league are much better leagues, no disrespect to them
Agreed 🤝
People don't realize the underlying reason of promoting the league is not to elevate the Saudi's league. It 's to elevate the country's economy by making people ease up to the idea of coming to Saudi. There are several sectors which are being reformed including the tourism and entertainment. Everything is tied in to achieve a higher goal.
@@bedroo222222 It's not a safe country 😂. Petty little thing you might get jailed numbers of years.
Says you who didn't even step a foot out of your miserable country @@barbarasara4033 😆
When will America stop calling Football a "Soccer"? haha
Im from Europe and I kind of like Soccer word better. So lets flip it and call in Soccer all over the world
When will people outside of the American continents stop calling the USA as "America"? The name of the country is not America. It is the United States. I am from Brazil and I am from America as well.
@@rafaeldoo9108 agree on that
@ingislakur lol OK your definitely American
Soccer is just slang created by the British which stands for association football. Different counties have different names for football.
Im sending my kids to the Saudi League, Period. 💯
I think Sportswashing dates back to East Germany focusing on Olympic medals.
Love Saudi and saudi people 👍
❤
They are not competing with UEFA at all, all these stars are way past their prime.
and what would stop them from recruiting players currently in their prime?
Few of them are past their prime, true, but the majority are in their best years
jota, veiga have not even reached their prime. Laporte, dehmiral, saint maximain, milinkovic savic, and mitrovic are all in their prime and below 30. This is a false narrative and just shows how little u know about these football players.
many of them are ballon dor and uefa men's player of the year candidates this year
Quick one, did the reporter doing the interview at the embassy get home?
what do buying soccer team and buying an yacht have in common? it's just pure joy of flexing. remember what the old man in squid game says before he dies? if you're too rich, life is too boring. the rich should do something to get out of being bored.
they are investing so their people can be supported in a good way financially in the future without a oil
This is the biggest proof that you are homeless in your country 🤣
It's called football. *FA= Football Association.
Anyways, it won't work because they are using money + top players to up the status of their leagues instead of growing the leagues to a higher level 1st and then getting the players in.
It's like that thing with Mixer and Ninja.
It's called soccer to us. Stop using an American website if you want to cry about it. And it's formal name is Association Football. If you're going to cry at least be right.
@del-see-oh lol official name of what/who?
When I said *FA, I was referring to the names of the body in charge. It's FIFA and the FA. Not FIAF or AF. How do you think acronyms work?
It's called Fédération Internationale de Football Association, and it's French. Not an English acronym.
@@del-see-oh You also think that NBA/MLB teams are world champions?:D
@@MaxxKoggen
I thought you were being one of these insufferable people who are confidently wrong while not being able to handle Americans, Australians, Canadians etc calling the sport soccer.
amazing. i love it. football is for everyone, everywhere
still I would rather watch Sheffield united play Luton.
OK good
i would rather watch Ronaldo at 75 play then any of the clubs you mentioned lol
"Traditionally soccer had been dominated by big European leagues and this is the first time that really significant threat has been posed by an outside league." NOT TRUE.
What about China Super League starting from some 15 years ago? They went big for marquee players and they were ahead of Saudi Arabia. But that turned out to be a big failure especially now that the real estate businesses that fund those teams are going bankrupt. And China's national team are mostly made up of foreigners and they still fail to win matches in international competitions. This is a country of more than 1.4B people. 🤣🤣🤣
Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, could be different. They have unlimited amounts of cash and Saudi's are actually quite good in soccer.
China signed big players like… Oscar. The names and situations are not comparable. They never got close to the upper echelon of players like Saudi is. I thought the same initially, but this aint China. CR7 + Neymar is a huge force.
@@f1sker_karmabenzama mane firmino all are better than oscar
Big populations don't mean you are good in sports. Look at the world's most populous country, India. How many Olympic golds have they won in their history. These are the countries with the biggest population, India, China, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico. Where do these nations stand in the football rankings. Nigeria, USA, Mexico (and that too because they in the Concacaf group) and maybe Russia can make it to the World Cup but would be hard pressed to go beyond the group stage. In fact, apart from USA, most of them are great in only one or two sports. At least, China is top in more than just a handful.
the chinese only invested for a short period of time, then they realized this approach wouldn't lead to the desired results. the government changed rules on sponsorship to discourage companies from investing in football. this isn't about the real estate crisis, the decision was made before that turned into a crisis. the league was also never financed by the state directly. what the chinese realized was that they would not get a good national team by getting good players to join their league (which was somewhat naive in the first place). it's funny how people always think they have unlimited money, compare that to the state investment fund of norway to get some perspective. the difference is that other in investment funds know that this isn't a good investment strategy, at least from a purely financial standpoint. politics plays a huge role here
Saudi economic decisions are not about which one generates more profit, but which one generates more news headlines then maybe profit.
Its "FOOTBALL"
Not soccer
Damn those usa !!
Football, American football, Gaelic football, Rugby, Australian football etc all evolved from the same University trend in England, mid 1800s. They come from one vaguely defined sport and evolved into unique and different ones. It's understandable that there are different names.
It was called soccer a long time ago internationally. Idk why.
They are buying wash up old popular players. They have a Long way to go. All these players are going there for money.
Oh, they’re not going there for the terrorism? haha
Duh..
0:38 "Help them grow the sport" 😂😂 😂 you mean there pockets
How many times did the word Southi Arabia would have been used in this video
“We take care of our people” that is why we took care of the guy criticizing the government on Twitter.
Saudi teams play club world cup regularly
Interesting
“Other saudi nations… “
8:36 and the Yemeni people? 😅😂
wish the best for SA they really love football, their league is at leats better than crap in the US
They underrepresented the player salaries, there is so much misinformation in the internet.
It's called football
Why only using "sportswashing" tag for Asian and African countries? Is the US doing the same with their number of leagues just to "sportswash" gun violence? Or the English doing the same for sportswashing their colonial past? Why only stop with Saudis?
I hope they are reading all the fine print of their contracts for situations in which they lose games or championships........
It’s called sports washing
Exactly. It’s how Saudi Arabia covers up the fact they export terrorism globally and even fund/supply Russia’s genocide of Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia trying to recreate El Clásico.
It won’t ever be popular like European soccer. 😂🤣
جمهورية كاتشب 😂😂😂😂
Next season more superstar come to Saudi it's confirm
People barely see soccer in Saudi
Same in the USA .
@@wazukyan7696every Messi game is SoldOut. Saudi’s games are all half-empty, even Ronaldo’s games. Lol
What the hell was that high pitch buzzing sound effect at the beginning of the video? Don't do that, it just hurts our ears
it is actually a good thing that a Saudi spokesperson showed up in this video to clarify Saudi POV and refute the lies
😅😅😅😅
LIES??!! LOL A bunch of derkas buying old players near retirement isn't any big stuff. Also Saudis can put as much money as they want and still they'll be a shithole for all advanced countries
they are a scam
its only 4 clubs making dumb and idiotic moves on players over 25 years old
and other 14 clubs are miserable
Players over 35****
It's named football !
Welcome to Khara
It's not "soccer" -
It's *FOOTBALL* .
Welldone Saudi Arabia coz Europe had monopoly on soccer or football for Many years
The US should be thankful to Messi for moving to the US instead of accepting billions of euros to go to Saudi.
It doesn’t need much explanation. Every single measure that is taking place in Saudi Arabia, every reform measure and every initiative is being implemented for one of two major reasons. It is either being implemented to advance the interests of Saudi Arabia as a country or to improve the lives of Saudi people, or both.
...and to make sure the royal family can stay in power
improve the lives of saudi people by depriving them from political participation, freedom of speech, ecnomic transparency, corruption, taking all taxes, oil, resources, and all their people money for sportwashing, parties, and oppression and making them poor, and unemployed employed with third world poverty salary.
Now, Saudi Arabia has approached india to invest 5 billion $ in IPL but smart India Govt didn't agree 😂
It's called Football!
It’s that Saudí Oil money 😂
Have to cover for their global terrorism.
If European culbs offers more money it is good transfer for clubs. But it happens in outside the euro it is footballer r for sale. Stop hypocrisy.
This is just a sign of how the world works, and it's all about money. They are trying to buy respect. I don't know if it's gonna work, but personally I hope they fail.
china tried the same strategy,lets wait for the results 3 years down the line.
America is been doing the same in the last 10 15 years, english primier league was doing it in the 90s now look how far they gone with league, peimier league was taken best player from eroupe Africa South America paying big money
Maybe they have their own reasons to do so, having so much money and have nothing to splurge on.
Breads and circuses.
Liberalisation and Abolishment of religion and keeping the youth distracted with nonsensical entertainment.
So...why they invest in it? Bury kashoggi? Catchup with other major league? Or what?
It is Football not Soccer.
Envying
That's just confirmation of which players have given up on their career. It's just the money, nothing more. The same happened in the mid/late 2010s with the chinese league, although with not as famous players as Ronaldo, Neymar etc. The concept however is the same, and doomed to fail.
One thing to say though is these stars are bigger than the Chinese leagues stars
I think it's more of a nice way to retirement for these players. Big paycheck near the end of their careers.
china did not qualify for the World Cup and beat the eventual winners in their first game. This is a false narrative, Saudi has invested just as much into its academies as they have in transfers. Ur just ignorant of it
This guy seems to have his bubble burst or something, soccer had always been about money! It had never been about anything other than that. From Europe buying form South America or the premier league buying from other countries. The one who pays more gets the player.
@@truechaosmulala3831 they're also all at the downturn of their careers. there's a reason why mbappe turned down $700 million for 1 year in the Saudi league
They will double their investment next season... overtaking the premier league...
I don't see how they achieve what they proposed. There is a coming shift from an European centered soccer to a North American (Mexico & US) due to economic power and demographics.
They're focusing on a large, neglected population which only watches soccer: Middle East, Africa, and Asia. In the US soccer has to compete with world class football, baseball, and basketball. There are many many people in the rest of the world who do tourism in Dubai, for example, those are the kinds of people Saudi is hoping will watch soccer games in the gulf
In the USA, no one watches professional soccer. It is almost never on TV unless you pay for it. It is a common sport of school children and teenagers, but after that not much. Soccer must compete with NBA, NHL, NFL, etc and we are already completely bombarded by the encumbants.
FOOTBALL! these ppl can't comprehend the game, they can't even name it correctly
I Only Covered This League & 2 Saudi Clubs On CZcams. But I Don't Think RSL Will Be My Favorite League Because I Prefer MLS Since Leo Messi Helped Miami To Win More Trophies.
you cheaters! Coming from a fire fan!
it's all about money.
They are bringing players in their 30's, spending all this money. But the real question is are people watching? This is not how you grow a sport. Everyone knows what Saudi Arabia does, so the money is actually going to the bin if you ask me.
The western world loves the term the order. As reference to themselves in anything
Any argument that these players go to Saudi for anything other than money is wrong. Neymar (the most overrated footballer of the 2010s) went to PSG from Barca for the money and has done the same with Saudi. It’ll be interesting in 3-4 years time to see where the league is. I don’t think it’ll be as fast as a decline as the Chinese Pro League; the Saudis will try and buy there way into the Champions League. As Tolkien says “evil can’t create it can only corrupt”
And wait for the Saudi paid bots to come…
sorry to inform you with this unlike Chinese league which businessmen owned the clubs there is close to 700Billion on a budget that is supporting SL
It's football, thank you, you may go now:)
Where is the threat here? Buying big superstars? Football is not driven by player names but clubs.
Instead imvest in junior talent
Siuuuuuuu 🐐 Cr 7
saudi can buy players but they cant buy fans
It's called football...
Frankly, none of these are going to threat european league. How many ppl outside Saudi watches their league?
600 million people? that's only if you count ronaldo's followers not neymar's or benzema's
@@ProGamer-ru2gdlol do you think all 600 mil followers are watching him in full game?? Seriously?
@@aspitola they are even vinicious jr was watching benzema's ittihad game
At least have the humility to call the number one sport in the world its correct name that everyone else uses.
Why shouldn't they do ?
I don’t think they’ll go the way of the Chinese super league
How is Saudi Arabia so rich?
oil 🛢🪔
They play in Europe for free 🤣🤣
I know ronaldo is a good player but i don't ignore other players too
Not because of he go to saudi i should stop watching premier league and others ueaf league
CR7 the GOAT 🐐🔥💯
why? it is how europeans and americans and their businesses want saudi arabia to do
Saudi terrorists can do what they want as they do.
They gotta be laundering money for real
I mean of course, that's not even a surprise
It’s literally a terrorist state. They fund and supply Russia’s genocide of Ukraine. Saudi exports Wahhabism globally, which is terrorism.
The league of shame, Ruining Football
Yes and it's called MLS
*futball not soccer, you play using your foot that is the reason is call futball
Football*
that's desperation at its finest
Is Football, Americans
Time for a neo-Reconquest?
Not mentioning sports washing until 6mins20 is a disgrace CNBC.
Hey, it’s only terrorism. Saudi only exports Wahhabism terrorism worldwide, funds & supplies Russia’s genocide & terrorism, gives their people no rights, and chops up journalists.
4:35 Did he say man city 🤣🤣. Lemme rearrange it for him Ma u, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal . This 4 clubs have a cult like diehard fan base all over the world 🌎.
Yeah you right 🤣🤣
All that income is tax free!!
if the Saudi isn't a threat to Europe (UEFA), why is even the president of European soccer comment about the Saudi League? he never comments a thing or two about MLS or China
It’s because unlike China or mls, the Arabs think money just grows on trees. They don’t work for anything so they think every has a price. But when you’re buying players past their prime it’s not going to work
because Saudi is terrorists.
lol we take human rights seriously,
seriously to demolish
It’s called football not soccer
Sports washing!!! That's what it is!!! and btw there us no threat for football, certainly these okayers didn't go there for footballing reasons lol Football is well and alive, just far far away from saudi arabia lol
...... Soccer😢
It's football not soccer.
It is “football”. “FOOTBALL”. Not soccer, IT IS FOOTBALL.