In the early morning of January 20, Beijing time, Messi and Ronaldo's second confrontation will be staged in Saudi Arabia. Although the match between the Riyadh star team represented by Cristiano Ronaldo and Paris Saint-Germain was just an ordinary friendly match, the attention was quite high and attracted the attention of the world.
While forging the Mero showdown, the country of Saudi Arabia is becoming the center of global sports in another way: just after the New Year, the Spanish Super Cup final was staged at the King Fahd stadium, and Xavi led his team to victory over Real Madrid to win the title for the first time.
In the early hours of this morning, Beijing time, on the same stadium, the Italian Super Cup was decided here, and in the presence of about 58,000 fans, Inter Milan defeated AC Milan 3-0 to successfully defend the Super Cup title.
After the World Cup in Qatar, the spotlight of world football was on Qatar's neighbor: Saudi Arabia.
At the start of the new year, the West Asian country attracted more and more attention as Saudi Arabia's Riyadh Victory Club brought Cristiano Ronaldo under its wing.
"Everyone was surprised by Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival in the Saudi League." In an interview in Saudi Arabia this morning, Dzeko, who won the trophy with Inter Milan, said: "The whole world and Europe have witnessed the transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo, and I dare say that when you see one of the best players coming to the Saudi league, it is a great thing for Saudi fans. That's why I said, for me and European players, the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo will allow us to focus more on the Saudi league. ”
In addition to football, Saudi Arabia has made "big moves" in sports in recent years: not long ago, Saudi Arabia became the first West Asian country to win the right to host the Asian Winter Games (2029); Last year, the Saudi crown prince unveiled a national strategy for gaming and esports.
And creating a top circuit that can influence the world golf landscape is also part of Saudi Arabia's sports landscape. Last year, the first tournament, funded by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, kicked off in London, England, with a prize fund of US$255 million (about 1.8 billion yuan) attracting top international players such as Woods and McIlroy.
Behind a series of reforms, it is inseparable from the "Saudi Vision 2030" created by the Saudi crown prince.
According to Global People, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed is known as the "most capable heir", with the support of his father, the crown prince intends to carry out drastic reforms in the economy, society, culture, sports, entertainment and other aspects, strive to guide the country's economic diversification, change the single economic structure that is extremely dependent on oil, and fundamentally change Saudi Arabia.
In sports, Saudi Arabia has opened up sports diplomacy by investing in enhancing its international reputation.
In October 2021, the Saudi sovereign wealth fund completed the acquisition of Newcastle United. At the time, the deal took 18 months and cost £300 million (2.4 billion yuan).
At the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar a month ago, Mohammed sat prominently in the audience. The Saudi national team shocked the world at the World Cup, defeating Argentina 2-1 in the first match of the group stage.
In fact, on an Asian scale, Saudi football has entered the first ranks ahead of the World Cup. In 2021, Riyadh Crescent made new history by defending the AFC Champions League title as the first team in AFC Champions League history to win four titles.
It is understood that from the beginning of the 2023-2024 season, Saudi football will usher in the largest range of reforms. The professional football league will be expanded to 18 teams, and eight foreign aid policies will be implemented to facilitate the construction of the Saudi national team.
With the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo, it is very likely to help the country's league absorb more superstars and come to West Asia to pan for gold. As a representative of the restructuring of the Saudi League, Ronaldo will also play a "residual heat" in Saudi Arabia's future bid for a series of continental events, and more importantly, Ronaldo's influence on social media will also spread Saudi Arabia's reputation and image.
"I have a lot of opportunities in Europe, as well as Brazil, Australia, the United States and Portugal," Ronaldo said after joining Riyadh, "but I gave this club a promise not only to help them develop football, but also to help this amazing country." ”