Portugal’s famous footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has made his way to the Middle East in the last phase of his career and it is nothing less than a Jackpot for him.
Ronaldo has an annual 200 million euro contract with Saudi Arabian football club Al-Nasr. The contract made him the highest paid player in football history.
At the age of 37, the value of players in professional football starts decreasing, but Cristiano Ronaldo has a good idea of his brand value and he also knows how to make the right decision at the right time.
In the matches of the FIFA World Cup played in Qatar, he could not perform much effectively for his team, but in spite of this, he has made the most expensive deal.
In fact, Ronaldo’s deal with Saudi Arabia’s football club should be seen in a larger context. According to Middle East sports analysts, this deal has opened the way for world famous football players to Middle East countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
These countries do not have shortage of money and they also seem to be working on a strategy to spend their money on these big players.
Otherwise, who would have thought that Ronaldo, who plays for clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, would move to Saudi Arabia and Qatar before saying goodbye to football.
In the 1970s, Saudi Arabia was similarly attracting oil engineers and blue-collar professional workers from around the world.
At that time football was in its nascent stage in Gulf countries, but even then Saudi Arabia’s Al-Halal club surprised football fans around the world.
1970 world champion Reulino started
In 1970, the Brazilian team became the world champion for the third time. Riolino, who took part in this World Cup with the famous player Pele, joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Halal club after his 16-year-long career.
The Brazilian team that won the World Cup in Mexico is called the Dream Team. Riolino, who was the star of that team, signed a three-year deal with Al-Halal in 1978.
Riolino, who played as an attacking midfielder in the Brazilian team, was difficult to stop when he played shots with his left foot at an angle with his left foot. He was also very successful in the Gulf countries.
He also won the Saudi Professional League title for his team and scored 39 goals in total. So it is obvious that the attractive offer which has attracted Ronaldo has attracted many players even before him.
When I myself moved from India to Qatar in May 2012, at the same time the most popular club in Qatar, Al Saeed, signed Raoul Gonzalez. Raúl has been one of the most famous players in the history of Spanish football.
Because of Raúl, football suddenly became more of a focus in Qatar and only a decade later Qatar hosted the World Cup.
Some critics say that Gulf countries make such deals to attract attention, but the fact is that countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia are not only improving sports facilities but also signing world class players to their clubs. ۔ Apart from this, international sports competitions are also being organized there.
When oil reserves were found in Saudi Arabia, at that time this Middle East country was considered rich in wealth, but when Qatar found natural gas reserves in its north-eastern region, its wealth also started increasing rapidly.
After that he joined the economic powers of the world by selling LPG gas to countries like Europe and India. The current ruler of Qatar, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Althani himself, is also a fan of football.
This is the reason why Qatar has acquired the ownership of French club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), in which modern football legends Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe play.
How much will be the benefit?
On the other hand, five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has preferred money over quality. He has turned down offers from Europe’s best clubs in front of huge sums of money. Certainly he has emerged as a bright star in the history of Saudi Arabian football but it cannot be said that his association will greatly benefit Saudi football or football in the region.
Prior to this, the pair of 1994 world champion Romário and Bibito of Brazil had also reached Saudi Arabia with a lot of money, but they did not stay there for long. But there is definitely some benefit from their presence.
When big players join the club, the branding and advertising game gets bigger. Clubs from Middle Eastern countries also try to expand business networks with Western countries by signing deals with big players.
Sights to see in Qatar other than football stadiums
Why Saudi Arabia showered millions of dollars on Ronaldo
As a brand, Cristiano Ronaldo is a bigger brand than Nasr Club, the club has come into limelight only after his arrival. Just as Neymar moved from Barcelona to PSG in 2017 or Messi joined PSG last season, all of which strengthened Qatar’s branding, so Ronaldo’s move to a Saudi Arabian club strengthened Saudi Arabia’s branding. Will strengthen
In fact, from the commercial point of view, the interest of the Gulf countries is now shifting from petroleum wells to other things and they are also considering the European football market as suitable for investment. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have invested heavily in European football over the past 14 years. Abu Dhabi’s royal family bought Manchester City in 2008.
Three years later in 2011, Qatar bought French club PSG. In 2021, a consortium led by Saudi Arabia bought Premier League club Newcastle United for over £300 million. Abdullah bin Mosad bin Abdulaziz آل سعود of Saudi Arabia bought English Football League Championship club Sheffield United in 2013.
Why are Gulf countries eyeing football?
In fact, the way electric vehicles are increasing all over the world, the Gulf countries also realize that an economy based only on petroleum cannot be a sustainable economy.
More recently, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have become the talk of the town internationally because of their heavy investment in football. Those countries have helped clubs such as PSG, Manchester City and Newcastle United come out of financial difficulties and improve their position in the European football circuit.
United Arab Emirates-owned Manchester City and Qatar-owned PSG have won more than a dozen titles between themselves over the past decade.
One of the main reasons for investment in European football in the Gulf countries is the rapid growth of this market. Europe’s top 32 clubs were growing at nine per cent in 2019 before the outbreak of Covid.
In eight years, the income of these clubs has increased by 65 percent. Apart from this, Gulf countries also have other benefits socially and economically. The civil aviation and tourism industries of the Gulf countries have benefited from the purchase of European football clubs.
Football stars playing for Gulf countries
In 1998, Nasr signed the most important Bulgarian player Hrsitto Stoichkovo. Although he did not stay there for long, but in this season Stoichkov became the Saudi Arabian Football Champion.
A member of the 1994 world champion team, Bibitou played only five matches and scored one goal in those matches before retiring in 2002.
Romario, who made Brazil world champions with Bibitou, signed a 100-day deal with Qatar’s top club Alsad in 2003 for $1.5 million in 2003. However, he was not very successful and could not score a single goal in three matches.
Argentine striker Gabriel Batistuta also played two seasons for Qatar’s Arabi Club.
In 2007, Brazilian star Danielson also reached Nasr, he was considered the most expensive player at the time, but he only stayed with the club for two months.
Jorge Viha is the winner of the 1995 Ballon d’Ar and is currently the president of Liberia. He joined Al-Jazirah club of Abu Dhabi for two seasons between 2001 and 2003. While Fabio Convarro, who was part of the 2006 world champion Italy team, joined Dubai’s Ahli Club in 2011.
In 2003–04 a number of foreign players were linked to various clubs in Qatar, including former Spain captain Fernando Hierro. Similarly, in 2015, Qatar’s Alsad Club signed 2010 world champion and Barcelona star Javi Hernandez.
