Presented to supporters of the Saudi club Al-Nassr on Tuesday, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi championship represents a resounding blow for this Gulf country which seeks, in the wake of Qatar, to position itself on the map of very high level sport. .
It is a spectacular sporting and diplomatic offensive on the part of Saudi Arabia: Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, five-time Golden Ball and sports legend, was presented on Tuesday, January 3, to supporters of the Al- Nasr.
On the decline in recent months, breaking with his club Manchester United and dismissed from the Portuguese starting eleven during the World Cup, the star has signed up until June 2025 for a staggering amount of 200 million euros.
"I'm a unique player. It's good to come here, I broke all the records there [in Europe] and I want to break a few more here," he said during his presentation to the supporters of the club whose wealthy owners aim to create a team of "Galactics" from the Gulf, in reference to the Real Madrid of Beckham and Zidane of the 2000s.
The presence of Ronaldo could indeed en courage other big names to tread the lawns of Saudi Arabia. According to a club official who wishes to remain anonymous, Croatian playmaker Luka Modric is in the sights of leaders, as is Chelsea's French midfielder N'Golo Kanté.
Within the yellow and blue club, the Portuguese will now be under the orders of Frenchman Rudi Garcia and will rub shoulders with former Ligue 1 residents such as Colombian goalkeeper David Ospina, Brazilian midfielder Luiz Gustavo and Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar .
"Becoming a footballing powerhouse"
Like Qatar, owner of Paris Saint-Germain, Saudi Arabia has already invested heavily in football. In October 2021, a Saudi consortium notably ended up taking control, despite initial opposition from supporters of the English club, Newcastle United.
But the arrival of CR7 represents "a new and unprecedented strategy", according to consultant Karim Sader, specialist in the Gulf countries. "It's not about buying a club to shine in a foreign league, but buying a huge aura player to shine in his own league: to become a footballing powerhouse rather than to assert itself as a power through football", summarizes the consultant.
If Ronaldo is not the first aging football star to finish his career in a Gulf country, never before has a player of his caliber signed in the region. Football star, fashion muse, influencer and unparalleled celebrity on social networks with more than 570 million subscribers on Instagram, he thus offers the modest Saudi championship and the country as a whole a fabulous spotlight.
"Asia has never seen anything like it, reports the English-language daily Gulf News based in Dubai. Wherever he goes, he will capture attention and, if only 10% of his followers are interested in his new club, the Saudi League will become one of the most watched in the world."
With CR7, 2030 World Cup goal
With the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Saudi Arabia, which has already created a sensation in its first match of the Qatari World Cup by beating Argentina's Lionel Messi (2 to 1), is also securing the services of an ambassador luxury with a view to obtaining the organization of the 2030 World Cup, the host country or countries of which will be designated in 2024 by Fifa.
"This is the beginning of the operation to seduce the world football authorities, as the presence of Prince Mohammed bin Salman had already shown at the opening match of the World Cup. They come to seek a sacred anointing with Ronaldo", assures with AFP Raphaël Le Magoariec, specialist in the geopolitics of sport in the Gulf countries at the University of Tours.
Just eight years after Qatar, which in November became the first Arab country to host the most prestigious football tournament on the planet, Saudi Arabia is considering a joint bid with Egypt and Greece.
The awarding of the World Cups has long been subject to the sacrosanct principle of the rotation of continents and confederations, but according to observers, nothing more prevents a candidacy led by the extremely wealthy ultra-conservative kingdom from seducing the authorities. world so quickly after Qatar.
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