8 months ago
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SAUDI Pro League clubs have been throwing around a vast amount of money this summer.
But until they sign Kylian Mbappe, or another genuine world star in his prime, then the major European clubs will remain relaxed about it.
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PARight now, it’s just the latest league where older players go to die their footballing deaths — like Karim Benzema joining Al-Ittihad — for one last earner.
It’s the same with Major League Soccer in America, it was the same with China for a while, and I did it myself in Japan at the end of my playing career.
I don’t want to sound holier-than-thou but Saudi Arabia has a deeply troubling human rights record — last year 80 people were executed in one day, most for what we would regard as minor offences.
There are many other serious human rights concerns.
It is easy to say, ‘I would never go there for any money’, until millions and millions are dangled in front of your face — then that dilemma becomes very real.
Players can guarantee the financial security of their family for generations to come.
It can’t be easy to turn down that sort of offer.
The Saudis, and their sportswashing project, are not going away — in football as in golf, boxing, tennis and other sports.
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They have ambitions to host World Cups and Olympics, and they have such vast wealth.
But until they can land an Mbappe, they will not be seen as a major threat by the top European leagues.
Some clubs, such as Chelsea, are even seeing the emergence of the Saudi Pro League as a major positive.
They have been able to offload unwanted players for big money, instead of having to loan them out while still paying half of their wages.
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