Twenty years ago, Saudi Arabia was far from a popular football country, especially for top players, but nowadays the cards are shuffled differently with the rise of the Saudi Pro League. Cristiano Ronaldo has already succumbed to the pressure of big money, but a monster salary beckons for many more players.
For these players, the big money beckons from Saudi Arabia
Last summer, Ronaldo opted for an adventure in Saudi Arabia. The Portuguese superstar signed a contract with a salary of more than one hundred and twenty million euros a year with Al Nassr. This made him the world’s highest-paid athlete. However, Al Nassr is not the only club with a large bank account. There are even more teams that want to bring big European players to Saudi Arabia.
For example, there is a good chance that former teammate of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema will also leave for the Middle East. The French striker is most likely to sign a contract with Ittihad FC. Benzema can earn two hundred million euros there in two years. And that too net. According to Ronaldo, the competition is becoming increasingly attractive as a result. “If they continue like this for the next five years, I think the Saudi League will be among the top five leagues in the world.”
N’Golo Kanté is an important target
That is why the Saudi clubs know what they have to do: bring even more quality that way. For example, according to AFP, Lionel Messi has a lucrative offer in his pocket, Sky Deutschland reported that Robert Lewandowski can go to Saudi Arabia and L’Équipe wrote that the transfer-free N’Golo Kanté is an important target in that country. Messi can reportedly even earn four hundred million euros a year at Al-Hilal.
However, they are by no means the only players who have received a hefty offer from the Arab country. Similarly, Luka Modric, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Hugo Lloris, Sergio Ramos, Roberto Firmino and Ángel Di Maria have recently been associated with Saudi football clubs. Not everyone will succumb to the big money. But there is certainly no denying that the Saudi competition is gaining prestige.
