It’s easy to criticize, but put yourself in Karim Benzema’s shoes. At 35 years old, he is about to retire, he has won every trophy there is and he is being offered a salary of four million euros to play in the Saudi Football League. Four million a week, to be clear.
What should he say, what not? Based on the premise that Benzema is a normal footballer and doesn’t give a damn that homosexuals and minors are executed in Saudi Arabia, that journalists are quartered or, among thousands of other barbarities, that a woman is sentenced to 34 years in prison ‘last year to send tweets critical of the regime whose petrodollars are funding its alleged conquest of world sport… so no. He won’t say no.
Neither does Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 38 earns a million more than Benzema. (Imagine the candle the Portuguese would mount if they paid him the same as what he considered his pawn in the Real Madrid striker…)
The issue of values ??in football is, as we all know, a losing battle. The question is whether, not long from now, so will the attempt to maintain the competitiveness of the Spanish Football League in the face of the rise 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 like Cristiano and Benzema sell their souls to Al-Nassr or Al-Ittihad or 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’m referring to Al-Ahli’s Riyad Mahrez, a key figure in Manchester City’s treble last season, who at 32 could continue to contribute a lot to any top-flight team. We could say the same of N’Golo Kanté, also 32 years old, brand new signing from Al-Ittihad who has shown at Chelsea and the French national team that he is one of the great defensive midfielders of the 21st century. More recently has been the signing of Sadio Mané by the team in which Cristiano plays. Mané is a 31?year-old electric striker who shone at Liverpool and suffered last year at Bayern Munich, but his goals would make Barça or Madrid or Manchester United sigh.
One player in whom Barça took a serious interest (or at least added to their imaginary list of possible signings) is midfielder and Portuguese 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, just like his new team-mate Allan Saint-Maximin, a speedy portent with a spectacular dribbling, the undisputed star of Newcastle United who finished fourth in the Premier League last season after the club was taken over a year and a half for… 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 dryness 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. Suddenly today there are enough players in the Saudi League to form an eleven capable of beating anyone. That’s what they want. The declared ambition of the Pro League is to be included among the ten best leagues in the world by 2030, the year in which Saudi Arabia intends to celebrate the World Cup. The domino effect we have seen in the last two months suggests that they will get there sooner, even surpassing not only the Spanish League in terms of quality but also the Italian, French and German ones. Give them time and maybe they’ll eat the Premier too.
Success in football is bought and the Saudis will not lack money. Can they be stopped? It depends on what is more important to the top players, whether the love of the sport or getting rich, very rich. Kanté, who today earns two million euros a week, and Mahrez and Mané, who are paid a more than respectable million, point the way.
And without having to endure that inconvenience of the civilized world, the payment of taxes.
