Anyone hoping for quick returns from Saudi Arabia’s historic football star buying spree was likely let down by the season’s imbalance and lack of international hardware thus far. The billion-dollar expenditure created a lopsided team. Superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar had spectacular debuts in the Saudi Pro League last year, but not much has happened in the league since.
With three games remaining on Saturday, Al Hilal secured their fourth title in five years, despite the absence of Neymar, who sustained an injury while playing for Brazil internationally in October. Roberto Mancini’s Saudi national team fell in the last 16 of the Asian Cup, and none of the Saudi teams advanced to the Asian Champions League final. The hosts, Al Ittihad, also lost in the second round of the Club World Cup in Jeddah.
Al Hilal were so good that they set a record for a top-tier team by winning 34 straight games across all competitions. They also had an undefeated record in the Pro League. The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s oil-funded sovereign wealth organization, purchased four clubs last year, including Al Hilal. Victories of 9-0, 7-0, and 6-1 demonstrated the disparity between these clubs and the others.
Four of the first five spots in the league table are occupied by Benzema’s new employers: Al Hilal, Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, Riyad Mahrez’s Al Ahli, and Al Ittihad. Journalist Mohamed Mandour, based in Paris for the Sportsdata website, told AFP that “the lack of a correct distribution of players among all the clubs created a noticeable gap between the big and minor teams and destroyed the competition in favor of Al Hilal.”
World Cup here we come
The league’s administrators, who were also recently hired, claim that becoming one of the top five domestic competitions in the world based on factors like player caliber, attendance at stadiums, and commercial success is a long-term project that will require time to accomplish. Anticipated for 2034 is Saudi Arabia, eager to project a fresh image and get ready for life beyond oil. Following neighboring Qatar in 2022, Saudi Arabia will be the second Gulf nation to host the World Cup.
Even while the tournament has not reached its peak yet, the $957 million spent on players last summer—the second-highest amount in the English Premier League and unprecedented in Saudi football—has surely increased interest in it. Ahmed Osama, an Egyptian resident in Saudi Arabia, was sitting contentedly with his two kids at a recent Riyadh game, enjoying the match between Al Nassr and 39-year-old Ronaldo, the last living football great. “We came just to watch Ronaldo, who they both love,” Osama, 40, said to AFP, noting that when his kids play PlayStation, they prefer Al Nassr over Barcelona or Real Madrid. The kids are nine and six years old.
Teething problems
Hiring a plethora of elite players is not an easy task, as seen by Benzema’s teething troubles at Al Ittihad and Ronaldo’s fine for an indecent gesture on the field. After just six months in the Pro League, former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson moved from Al Ettifaq to Ajax. Players may find the league’s late starts, intense heat, and frequently empty stadiums unappealing. After disputing with Al Ittihad’s Abderrazak Hamdallah from the stands in April, a fan dressed in traditional Saudi attire pulled out a long whip and hit the striker.
According to Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at the SKEMA Business School in France, establishing the kind of reputation that the English Premier League or Spain’s La Liga has takes years. “Saudi Arabian football needs to accept the reality that resources and talent are not enough to ensure ongoing success,” he stated to AFP. “Saudi Arabian football has kind of slipped on and off the minds of football enthusiasts this season,” Chadwick continued. “That is not how it can be. As evidenced by the Premier League and La Liga, involvement is a year-round phenomenon. There is still much work for Saudi football to accomplish.