The Saudi Pro League started off this Friday, as global star Cristiano Ronaldo kicked the first day off by scoring a hat trick as Al Nassr beat Al Fateh 5-0. There has been a buzz around the Saudi Pro League for the past year, but what was the reason behind the sudden rise in the popularity of this league?
Towards the end of 2022, there was a buzz around the football world, if not the entire world, that one of the most decorated football players of all time Cristiano Ronaldo was in talks with a Saudi Club, and was close to signing a record deal. While the majority of the people didn’t think this to be true as the five time UEFA Champions League winner was training in the Real Madrid ground, causing speculations of him possibly returning to the club.
But on 30th December, Ronaldo delivered the final nail in the coffin by signing a deal with Al Nassr, shocking the entire football fraternity. “In Europe my work is done,” said Ronaldo in the press conference, before his unveiling was done. He said it’s a new challenge in Asia, and this challenge was conquered, as Ronaldo helped the club win their first Arab Club Champions Cup title, beating Al Hilal 2-1 in the finals.
The Saudi Pro League has barged into the European league, signing players after players. Following Ronaldo, big names like Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, and finally, the big fish Neymar Jr. One of the biggest reasons as to why and how these players are being fished by the Saudi League, are the undeniable offers that the clubs are offering to the players, and the incentives are something that even a big player can only dream of.
But where are the clubs getting so much money from? Where is the league getting so much money from? How are they producing such staggering offers? The government of Saudi Arabia is willing to provide funds to the league to attract big names by injecting billions of dollars in the Saudi Pro League. After signing Ronaldo, the league gained a lot of popularity, and this seemed like the best way to gather attention to the country. Now, they sign players, and their contract includes a clause which states that the players would get bonus money for promoting the country’s tourism on social media.
We can say that ever since Cristiano Ronaldo landed in Saudi Arabia, the league and the country has been getting a lot of attention. He was the first domino to fall, which started the rise of the Saudi Pro League. While Saudi Pro League is not a league as big as English Premier league or La Liga, the rate at which big names are moving to the Saudi League, it might just reach the status soon enough.
Sport Sphere 