“All this I will give you, if prostrate you will adore me”
satan to jesus
It’s easy to criticize but put yourself in the place of Karim Benzema. At 35, he is on the verge of retirement, he has won all the trophies there are and they offer him a salary of four million euros to play in the Saudi soccer league. Four million a week, just so we’re clear.
Are you going to say no? Starting from the premise that Benzema is a normal footballer and does not give a damn that in Saudi Arabia they execute homosexuals and minors, that journalists are dismembered or that, among thousands of other atrocities, a woman was sentenced to 34 years in prison. to last year for sending tweets critical of the regime whose petrodollars finance its alleged conquest of world sport… well no. He’s not going to say no.
Nor Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 38 earns a million more than Benzema. (Imagine the chicken that the Portuguese would ride if they paid him the same as the one he considered his pawn in the forward of Real Madrid…)
The value of football is, as we all know, a losing battle. The question is whether, in the near future, the attempt to maintain the competitiveness of the Spanish soccer league will also be competitive against the onslaught not only of the English Premier League but also, increasingly, of the Saudi Pro League. What is worrying is not that stars of the recent past such as Cristiano and Benzema sell their souls to Al-Nassr or Al-Ittihad or to the devil. What is worrying is the number of players still in a position to play at the highest European level who throughout this hot summer have shrugged their shoulders and opted for golden exile in the desert.
I am referring to Riyad Mahrez from Al-Ahli, a key figure in Manchester City’s treble last season, who at 32 could continue to contribute a lot to any top team. The same could be said of N’Golo Kanté, also 32, a brand new signing from Al-Ittihad who at Chelsea and the French team has proven to be one of the great defensive midfielders of the 21st century. More recent was the signing of Sadio Mané by the team where Cristiano plays. Mané is a 31-year-old electric striker who shone at Liverpool and suffered last year at Bayern Munich, but for whose goals Barça or Madrid or Manchester United would sigh.
One player that Barça took a serious interest in (or at least added to their imaginary list of possible signings) is the Portuguese midfielder and international Rúben Neves. One of the most admired players in the Premier League, conductor of Wolves, Neves has signed for Al-Hilal. And he is only 26 years old, just like his new teammate Allan Saint-Maximin, speedy powerhouse with spectacular dribbling, undisputed star of Newcastle United who finished fourth in the Premier last season after the club’s acquisition a year and a half ago by… a fund linked to the Saudi regime.
There are many more. World-renowned players such as Firmino, Henderson and Fabinho have exchanged the passion of Anfield, Liverpool’s stadium, for the aridity of the “Al” clubs. Edouard Mendy, 31-year-old goalkeeper, winner of the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 is another. Also Marcelo Brozovic, 30, captain of Inter Milan in the Champions League final in May. There are suddenly enough players in the Saudi league today to form an eleven capable of beating anyone. In that they are. The Pro League’s stated ambition is to be among the top ten leagues in the world by 2030, the year in which Saudi Arabia intends to host the World Cup. The domino effect that we have seen in the last two months suggests that they will arrive sooner, even that they will surpass not only the Spanish league in terms of quality but also the Italian, French and German ones. Give them time and maybe they will eat the Premier too.
You can buy success in football and the Saudis will not lack money. Can they be stopped? It depends on what is more important for the top players, the love of the sport or getting rich, very rich. Kanté, who today earns two million euros a week, and Mahrez and Sané, who are paid a more than respectable million, point the way. And without having to put up with that nuisance of the civilized world, paying taxes.
