From Ronaldo to Benzema, Saudi Arabia’s megabucks lure football’s superstars
More high-profile players are on the way to the Kingdom ahead of the new season in August
Lee U-Wen
ARGENTINA’s quest for the World Cup trophy in Qatar last November didn’t get off to the best of starts. In their opening match, they suffered one of the tournament’s most shocking defeats as Saudi Arabia – one down from a Lionel Messi penalty – went on to stun their more illustrious opponents 2-1.
It was an incredible result, one which all the Saudi players that day – especially the goalscorers Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari – will never forget for the rest of their lives.
Still, Saudi Arabia is not regarded as a powerhouse on the international stage. However, the country’s professional league – where most of the national team ply their trade in – is making plenty of headlines of late with a hatful of top players signing big-money contracts to play there.
In June, the Gulf Kingdom unveiled plans to privatise its largest football clubs in a major effort to boost revenue and attract the best players.
When the new season begins in August, some of the sport’s most recognisable names will be on the rosters of the league’s 18 teams, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema all leaving Europe to showcase their talents in this part of the world.
Here’s the lowdown on just five of the football superstars who now call Saudi Arabia home.
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Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr)
The football world sat up and took notice when, on the penultimate day of 2022, the 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Riyadh-based Al-Nassr. In front of thousands of disbelieving fans, the Portugal captain was paraded in the club’s blue-and-yellow jersey with his favourite number 7 on the back.
Ronaldo, who fell out with his previous club Manchester United a month prior, has a two-and-a-half year contract with a total salary of around 200 million euros (S$293.4 million) per year after commercial deals are included. This is believed to be the highest amount ever paid to any footballer in history, although one shouldn’t be surprised if another wealthy Saudi club breaks that record sometime soon.
Ronaldo wasted little time to make an impact with his new club, scoring 14 goals in 16 matches. However, that wasn’t enough to help Al-Nassr win the league last season as they finished runners-up to Al-Ittihad.
Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)
Not content with lifting a first league title since 2009, Al-Ittihad added French marksman Karim Benzema to their squad in June. The 35-year-old will wear the No 9 jersey, and he joins after 14 trophy-laden seasons with Real Madrid. During his time at the Spanish club, Benzema won five Champions League crowns and four league titles. He also won the Copa del Rey thrice.
Last October, Benzema won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career, making him the first French winner of the most prestigious individual honour since Zinedine Zidane in 1998.
At Al-Ittihad, Benzema will play alongside his countryman N’Golo Kante, who joined on Jul 1 after serving out his contract at English Premier League (EPL) club Chelsea.
Roberto Firmino (Al-Ahli)
After becoming a free agent when his Liverpool contract expired, Roberto Firmino on Tuesday (July 4) joined Al-Ahli – one of the four founding members of the Saudi Pro League – on a three-year deal.
The 31-year-old Brazilian will bring plenty of creativity and firepower to his new club, having netted 111 times in 362 games for the Reds. During his eight-year stint, he won the EPL, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. He also scored the only goal in extra time to help Liverpool defeat Flamengo to win the Fifa Club World Cup for the first time in 2019.
Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahli)
Also at Jeddah-based Al-Ahli is Edouard Mendy, the 31-year-old Senegalese goalkeeper who helped Chelsea win the Champions League in 2021. He also won the UEFA best goalkeeper award that year.
Mendy has been a central figure for his country. His most important contribution was the decisive save in a penalty shootout against Egypt last year that led to Senegal winning the Africa Cup of Nations.
Marcelo Brozovic (Al-Nassr)
Spanish giants Barcelona wanted the services of Marcelo Brozovic, a talented defensive midfielder from Inter Milan, but they were not willing to match Al-Nassr’s reported offer of 18 million euros.
The 30-year-old started the Champions League final in Istanbul in June, in what proved to be his last appearance for Inter after eight years. He scored 31 goals in 330 appearances for the Italian club, winning Serie A once and the Italian Cup twice.
At Al-Nassr, fans are salivating at the prospect of Brozovic linking up with Ronaldo as they look to go one step further and win the league next season.
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