Over the past few weeks, the surge in the number of Saudi Pro League teams hunting for world class football talent has been evident. Their technique seems to be one that entails the use of record breaking salaries to lure the players. It was all kick started by Cristiano Ronaldo´s move to Al Nassr in January. The Portuguese forward signed for the Saudi side on a salary of more than €200 million per season.
Key signings this window
With Karim Benzema and Ngolo Kante joining Al Ittihad this summer, will there be similar moves to Saudi Arabia? The pair will each take home excess of €100 million per season alongside bonuses for being ambassadors for Saudi Arabia’s 2030 World Cup hosting bid.
Lionel Messi had been a long time target for Saudi sides. Al Hilal were willing to offer upto €1 billion to land the Argentine´s signature. Messi however decided that his future lies in the United States. He signed with MLS side Inter Miami, on a two and a half year contract.
Wilfred Zaha is another target for the Saudis as Al Nassr look to peg him down to a mouthwatering contract. He has been offered up to €45 million and it is now all him on whether he accepts the offer.
Other players who have been offered deals in Saudi include Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Roberto Firmino, who are all out of contract this summer.
Will such signings help the Saudi Pro League grow?
In terms of coverage, such big name signings will attract more broadcasting partners. The Saudi League has gained more eyes since landing the signing of Cristiano. With Benzema and Kante also finalizing their deals, the league will most likely get more TV coverage partners as the stars play for them.
As much as they spend a lot in getting the signatures of the players, the Saudi Pro League will also reap when it comes to TV rights and ticket sales. This is as a result of the star power they bring to the league.
Also, such signings help develop the quality of the game in Saudi Arabia. Having two Ballon d’or winners in the league alongside a World Cup winner will help other players learn first hand from some of the greatest ever. Al Ittihad will reap the most having Benzema and Kante in their side. Their players will get a lot in terms of advancing their game by learning first hand from two of France’s best ever.
Is the approach similar to the Chinese Super League?
The Chinese Super League has been synonymous with big money moves that end up not bearing fruit. You think of Oscar in the past, Carlos Tevez, Ramirez and Gervinho. They all moved to China for big money but would still have had longer and better careers in Europe. Even with their signings, the Chinese Super League only grew domestically and did not attract international coverage that much. The league has faced a crumble in recent years due to the spending traits. With the Chinese Football Association also adding strict guidelines in terms of signing, the league effectively failed with their approach to try and better it.
Saudi Arabia is bound to be different as most of the signings are goal oriented. As much as they sign for different clubs, the end goal seems to be to win the rights for Saudi to host the World Cup in 2030. The clubs are different but the goal is one.
In Saudi, they have managed to attract bigger stars, the best of the best. Already having the two all time top scorers for Real Madrid (Ronaldo 450, Benzema 354) is a great testament as to who they are bringing in. They can be guaranteed also of broadcast growth alongside the digital growth. More eyes and desire to watch the Saudi Pro League has emanated from who they have signed. In terms of digital growth, one should just refer to the increase in following for Al Nassr when Ronaldo signed. They now have upwards of 14 million followers on Instagram up from 830,000.
Additional benefits include more shirt sales, increased ticket sales and growth of local tourism. Such benefits help the Saudis gain something back from what they put in football.
What next?
The next move obviously is for Saudi to be one of the best leagues in the world. When questioned, Cristiano Ronaldo was confident that in a few years time, that would be the case.
“I think there are other little things they need to improve. But I’m happy here, I want to stay here, I will stay here. In my opinion, if they continue to do the job they want to do here for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be one of the top five leagues in the world.”
Cristiano Ronaldo on his future and the Saudi Pro League’s growth
All in all, the approach is one that has a lot of money, but if successful, the league will grow and local football in Saudi Arabia will improve further. They had a good showing in the World Cup for a country not known for football and their levels keep growing.
