On Tuesday, the Saudi club Al-Ittihad formalized the signing of Karim Benzema, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2022. And is also preparing to welcome N'Golo Kanté, world champion with the Blues in 2018.
The oil monarchy intends to make football a new weapon of its soft power. Attracting great players to its local league is part of the Vision 2030 project, presented by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last November. If Saudi Arabia wants to organize the World Cup and make a better result than Qatar in 2022, it must create a real football culture.