Saudi Arabia Ups Its Mideast Sports Gamble

One-upmanship in Middle Eastern sports just went up a notch as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will join state-owned Saudi football club...

Cristiano Ronaldo in action for Manchester United in the English Premier League. Photo: Reuters/Ian Walton.

One-upmanship in Middle Eastern sports just went up a notch as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will join state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC for a reported $241 million over 2.5 years.

Ronaldo’s transfer, involving the biggest soccer salary in history, beats Qatar-owned Paris St. Germain’s acquisition of Brazilian player Neymar for $200 million in 2017, which at the time was the world’s most expensive transfer.

The timing of Neymar’s transfer demonstrated Qatar’s resilience at a moment when Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates spearheaded a failed diplomatic and economic boycott of the Gulf state in a bid to force it to align its foreign and media policies with those of its main detractors.

Contrary to perceptions, Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia is about more than distracting from the kingdom’s abominable human rights record. Human rights are just one of the kingdom’s reputational problems, even if they are what attracts the most attention.

Saudi Arabia seeks to alter an image entrenched over seven decades of a secretive kingdom that used its oil wealth to globally promote an ultra-conservative, supremacist, and intolerant interpretation of Islam. In a bid to take Saudi Arabia into the 21st century, diversify its economy, cater to the aspirations of a young population, and create building blocks for the survival of his regime, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), has introduced significant social and economic reforms while tightening the political leash.

Ronaldo contributes to that, even if he, at 37, is near the end of his playing career. Sports, particularly soccer, the most popular form of entertainment, is a pillar of MBS’ Vision 2030 reform plan.

It boosts sports as part of the development of a modern entertainment industry in a country in which that was non-existent before the crown prince’s rise in 2015, and it contributes to a public health policy in which exercise and sports play a key role. Ronaldo also enhances MBS’ effort to replace smaller Gulf states, like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as the hub for anything and everything in the Gulf, whether it’s sports or the regional seat of foreign multinationals and corporations.

In addition, Ronaldo’s usefulness to MBS will likely outlive the aging player’s footballing career. For the rest of this decade, he will likely be what David Beckham was to the Qatar World Cup, an ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s joint bid with Egypt and Greece for the hosting rights of the 2030 tournament, particularly if the bid is successful.

Ronaldo’s move to Al Nassr could be an initial step in a more bold effort to position Saudi Arabia at the core of Middle Eastern sports. As sports journalist John Duerden suggests, a next step could involve carving out a separate regional Arab association from the Asian and African football confederations. Twelve of the Asian Football Federation’s (AFC) 47 member associations are Arab, and so are seven North African affiliates of the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) 54 members. The AFC counting does not include non-Arab Iran and Israel, which was expelled in 1974 and is part of UEFA, FIFA’s European leg.

Creating an Arab association would have a greater chance of success than Saudi Arabia’s failed attempt in 2018 to form an organization of Southwest Asian football associations that would have included Arabs and South Asians. However, with Gulf states, this decade dominating the hosting of top competitions and Saudi Arabia seeking to squeeze out Qatar and the UAE as regional sports hubs, the thought of an Arab football federation that secedes from the AFC and CAF is not far-fetched.

Next month, Morocco will host the FIFA Club World Cup. Qatar will host the Asian Cup a bit later in 2023. Saudi Arabia is certain to host the 2027 Cup. Doha is back in the picture as home to the 2030 Asian Games; in 2034, it’s Riyadh’s turn.

Saudi Arabia and Egypt are considered FIFA favorites for the 2030 World Cup, and a Moroccan pitch is possible. Moreover, Saudi Arabia is bidding for the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup.

Saudi sports minister Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said he would support a Saudi private-sector acquisition of Manchester United. The Saudi state is precluded from buying a second Premier League club after its sovereign wealth fund purchased Newcastle United.

In an interview with BBC sports, Al Faisal argued that his country’s sports strategy was producing results.

Ronaldo “would benefit the league, the sports eco-system in Saudi and will inspire the youth for the future. The numbers don’t lie — when you look at participation in boxing, from six gyms in 2018 to 57 gyms today. A 300% participation increase, 60% are women, which was a shock for us. When you see appetite from the youth, men, and women, they learned from it,” Al Faisal said.

Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist and scholar, an Adjunct Senior Fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and the author of the syndicated column and blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer