Last summer, it seemed as if the future of football was shifting. Almost out of the blue, big-name players from top European Leagues began departing on masse. Their destination: Saudi Arabia.
Karim Benzema, Neymar Jr, N’golo Kante. Roberto Firminho, Riyadh Mahrez, Sadio Mane. The list went on. All following in the golden-laced footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had transferred to Al-Nassr just months before.
The majority of these were past the peak of their powers, those looking for a healthy retirement fund. Not concerned with the morality of where it came from. The outliers of players at their peak, such as Ruben Neves, opting for the switch raised a few eyebrows. Was this the realigning of football’s centre of power? One funded directly by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund: the Public Investment Fund (PIF).
€977 million was spent on transfer fees alone, second only to the Premier League at €1.29 billion over the same period. That is withstanding wages, a figure reportedly over €1 billion. Ronaldo himself earning €185 million a year.
A year on, has this investment succeeded?