Cristiano Ronaldo leads, the stars gather the "banknote ability" of the Saudi league is here!
Last weekend, at the same time that Cristiano Ronaldo led Riyadh to victory to win the Arab Champions Cup, the Saudi league that cost nearly 500 million euros to bring in about 30 big stars such as Benzema officially kicked off this summer, and former Liverpool center Firmino scored a hat-trick in the opening match. Fans who have witnessed the "banknote ability" of the Saudi league can finally see the true face of this "all-star league" with their own eyes. Moreover, French media such as "Team Newspaper" have disclosed that Neymar is also very likely to accept an annual salary of 100 million euros and become the finale superstar of the Saudi League in Xia City.
At the beginning of the year, Riyadh won the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo with an annual salary of 200 million euros, which brought the Saudi league unprecedented global attention. This summer, the Saudi league was fully reorganized, with the Saudi Sovereign Fund (PIF) acquiring 75% of the shares of Riyadh Crescent, Riyadh Victory, Jeddah United and Jeddah National, and large conglomerates such as Saudi Aramco Group also invested in the acquisition of other clubs. At the same time, the Saudi government distributed different amounts of signing funds to 18 clubs, setting off an unprecedented "Saudi storm" in the European football market.
As of Sunday, the Saudi league had spent nearly 500 million euros on the market this summer, ranking fifth in the world by more investment than La Liga. Headed by Mr. Ballon d'Or Benzema, N'Golo N'Golo, Firmino, Mahrez, Milinkovic, Brozovic, Fabinho, Koulibaly, Ruben Neves, Malcolm, Mendy and Henderson and other well-known stars from the five major leagues have joined, the total number has reached 30, and it is likely to continue to increase. The continued influence of the joining of these big-name stars has spread throughout the entire summer market, making the Saudi League the most talked about league in the summer market outside the five major leagues.
In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo and the 30 well-known stars who just joined this summer, the Saudi league also has well-known stars such as Talisca , Ospina, Banega, Hammed and other well-known stars who have previously joined, while some stars who originally played in the Saudi league such as F. Kecedo, Marega, Zhang Xianxiu, Hagaz, Masharipov, etc. have been abandoned because their popularity can no longer meet the needs of the current Saudi league. Although stars such as Andres Iniesta, Sefilovic, Rodrigo, Fernando, Guedes, Murillo and Soma have also been introduced in the UAE and Qatar leagues this summer, they are not at all in the same order of magnitude compared to Saudi Arabia.
Because of the arrival of many first-line stars in the five major leagues, the value of players in the Saudi league has skyrocketed. The total value of Saudi League players with 18 clubs has reached 823 million euros, five times more than the Chinese Super League (156 million) and more than the three major leagues of China, Japan and South Korea combined (568 million). Saudi Arabia's four giants are all worth more than €100 million, with Riyadh Crescent (163 million) topping the list, followed by Riyadh Victory (153 million), Jeddah National (150 million) and Jeddah United (120 million). The Big Four are also the only clubs in Asia worth more than 50 million euros, a full order of magnitude ahead of other clubs in Asia. The total value of players of the entire 16 clubs in the Chinese Super League is not as good as 1 Riyadh Crescent, and the highest value of Shanghai Port in the Chinese Super League is only 110 million euros in history, and now it is worth 23.7 million and ranks first in East Asia, but it can only rank 7th in the Saudi league, only 1/7 of Riyadh Crescent.
In addition, the Saudi league has also attracted Jesus, Nuno, Castro, England's Steven Gerrard, Dutch coach Kaiser who coached Ajax, German junior coach Jasler who coached Red Bull Salzburg, former Polish national team coach Mikhniewitz, and coaches Bilic and Koonterra, who once coached the Chinese Super League. It can be said that today's Saudi league is higher than the "money-burning era" of the Chinese Super League in the past, and the first-class star level, number and global influence are higher.
The broadcast rights to the Saudi League for the new season have been sold to more than 130 countries and regions around the world, covering not only almost the whole of Europe, but also Asia, Africa, North and South America, and of course China. The Saudi league not only has superstars, but also led by sovereign funds and government departments, covering all-round planning such as club operation and commercial promotion, modernization of stadiums, training centers and other hardware facilities, as well as youth training system and local player training. Chinese fans can watch more than 30 world-class stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and possibly Neymar, compete in Saudi Arabia from home, and Chinese football should also learn valuable experience from the boom of the Saudi league by observing and referring to the development model of the Saudi league.