The grand plan.. How did Saudi Arabia bring together Messi and Ronaldo to enhance its sports presence?

“Messi has just enjoyed an invaluable achievement while Ronaldo is trying to portray the price as an achievement.” (1)

Who among us would have imagined that the previous sentence of The Independent journalist "Miguel Delaney" might be one of many sentences suitable for describing the latest chapters of the conflict between Messi and Ronaldo, the conflict that began in 2008 and lasted longer than it should, to present us with one of the longest competitions in the history of sports, And one of her most heated debates?!

And throughout that period, every story and every competition was reduced to the duo, Nike and Adidas, Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​talent and effort, Pepsi and the boycott of soft drinks, everything was divided between the Messi team and the Ronaldo team, as if we were watching a competition in a single game, a competition between two kings, everyone around them Mere tools harnessed to serve them, until the final chapter.

Victory is a state of mind.

@Cristiano and #LionelMessi captured by @annieleibovitz for @LouisVuitton.

In addition to a long tradition of crafting trunks for the world's most coveted sporting trophies, the Maison celebrates two of the most talented football players today.

pic.twitter.com/AU9kPyI2wL

- Louis Vuitton (@LouisVuitton) November 19, 2022

Ronaldo surrender

Cristiano's entry into the story began days after Messi lifted the World Cup, when his signing for the Saudi club Al-Nasr was announced, and many considered the sequence of the two events as a tacit admission by Ronaldo that the conflict had ended in favor of his rival, but the surprise was that the deal took place without any introductions, at least on the part of the Portuguese. for his lovers.

Piers Morgan: "You want to keep playing at the highest level. You want to play Champions League football. You want to break records. If it was only about money it would be in Saudi Arabia."

Ronaldo: “Of course, because I still believe I can score many, many goals and help the team.”(2)

The summer of 2022 witnessed an intense search by "Jorge Mendes (Ronaldo's agent)" to find a way out for his client from Manchester United to one of the clubs that play in the European Champions League, according to the details published by "The Athletic" network. "Mendez" contacted Malik. Chelsea "Todd Bohle", who welcomed the idea of ​​​​including Ronaldo, until he collided with the rejection of coach "Thomas Tuchel", and the rejection caused a rift in the German coach's relationship with the new owner. (3)

The famous agent also contacted Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, and returned with the same answer. In the same context, one of the agents, who refused to reveal his name, told The Athletic that Ronaldo himself contacted an executive director of a European club to discuss the possibility of joining him, which is certainly what happened. Banished by one of the player's representatives.

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The sporting interest was there for Ronaldo but not on the financial side.

He would have stayed in Europe if he had received an offer from Real Madrid.

He and Florentino Pérez spoke briefly, they have a very positive relationship and the president told him he was welcome at Real Madrid at any time (but not as a player).

pic.twitter.com/3yIEtP9KXQ

- RM4Arab Network (@RM4Arab) December 31, 2022

Those attempts confirmed one thing, which is that Ronaldo is still resisting, even if he was resisting his artistic decline with arrogance, then suddenly and without introductions, the Portuguese surrendered to the truth, and decided to leave Europe, and that was his first move in which “Jorge Mendes” does not appear, as if he is punishing him for what he did. An event in the transfer season. (4)

In the end, Ronaldo arrived in Saudi Arabia, and signed a contract that is the most expensive in the history of football, according to many reports, with a value of up to $ 200 million annually, including commercial agreements, which made many believe that Ronaldo’s role in the Kingdom will be greater than playing the ball, and that the Kingdom is seeking To take advantage of it in its ambitious plan to develop its global presence in the sports arena. (5)

Calling Ronaldo the highest-paid footballer in the world is like Tom Cruise being the highest-paid fighter pilot.

Barney Rooney, The Guardian(6)

Al Nassr had less than 500K followers before announcing the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Since then, they've gained over 8.6 MILLION followers in less than one week and have more followers than ALL these clubs 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IWbYX2TRmI

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 4, 2023

Messi the ambassador

As for Messi, his situation differs slightly. Leo is still playing at a high level with Paris Saint-Germain, who is in the European Champions League, and if he does not win it, then at least he will increase the number of his goals to approach Cristiano’s number, and at the level of the national team Messi has not yet found himself a backup, and therefore without It is likely, at the time of writing these words, that the best player in the 2022 World Cup will come to Saudi Arabia as a player, but the Kingdom will certainly want to benefit from him as well, but in another way.

In 2012, it was Messi's first visit to Saudi Arabia, specifically when he was only nine goals away from breaking the "Gerd Mueller" record, at which time he faced the Saudi national team in a friendly match, which everyone later knew with the iconic image of the born Fahd's wink towards Leo, after which Messi attended Several occasions in the Kingdom, most notably the Super Clasico against Brazil in 2019, and the Spanish Super Cup in 2020. (7) (8)

I am pleased to welcome Lionel Messi to Saudi Arabia We are excited for you to explore the treasures of the Red Sea, the Jeddah Season and our ancient history.

This is not his first visit to the Kingdom and it will not be the last!

@VisitSaudiNow pic.twitter.com/RDfxFIRjrt

- Ahmed Al Khateeb Ahmed Al Khateeb (@AhmedAlKhateeb) May 9, 2022

But in May 2022, Leo's visit was different from its predecessors, as the Minister of Tourism, "Ahmed Al-Khatib", announced Messi as the ambassador for Saudi tourism. The details of the agreement or its duration were not announced, but some sources revealed to the "The Athletic" network that Messi had been charged for nearly 25 years. One million pounds annually, which is five times the amount previously offered to Ronaldo to perform the same task, but the Portuguese did not accept at the time. (9) (10)

You can take a tour of the website “Visit Saudi” to find a section dedicated to the Argentine legend showing the places he visited, with a message that reads: “Lionel Messi wants you to unleash your imaginative ideas, enthusiasm and excitement, whether you travel to discover new things, old things or just to try something new In yourself, Saudi Arabia satisfies all tastes, so what are you waiting for? Plan your adventures now.” (11)

Continue the celebration and share this incredible moment with us in Arabia!

🎉

#VisitSaudi #Champions #Argentina pic.twitter.com/5fn6JIonwU

— Visit Saudi (@VisitSaudi) December 20, 2022

Messi, Ronaldo and others

Thus, Messi and Ronaldo participate, despite the different roles, in order to promote the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia within a plan that does not revolve around the two stars only. According to what was published by the “Financial Times”, the Saudi Public Investment Fund concluded sponsorship agreements in football worth $ 2.3 billion (8.75 billion Saudi riyals). In the first eight months of 2022, most of the money has gone to local football.(12)

This comes less than a year after the Public Investment Fund (80%) acquired Newcastle United for 300 million pounds, which is a relatively small number if we compare it to what Saudi Arabia and the UAE sought in partnership with “Soft Bank”, when they presented in 2018 a higher An investment that football has ever witnessed, according to the description of “Infantino”, the president of FIFA, when they allocated $ 25 billion to create two new tournaments, which are the Club World Cup after its expansion, and a global league for national teams that is more like a mini version of the World Cup. (13)

What should be noted is that the Saudi strategy does not stop at football, but rather goes beyond it to include the rest of the sports. Since 2018, the Kingdom has witnessed the organization of boxing matches, Formula One and motorcycle races, the Handball Club World Cup, and the Diriyah Tennis Cup, in addition to launching a championship "LIV Golf" as a parallel tournament to the main golf tournament "PGA TOUR", with an investment of $ 2 billion, in addition to the "Gamers8" tournament for electronic games.(14)(15)

Saudi bound.

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Canada's finest Jeffrey Whaley is ready to let rip at the @UCI_BMX_FS World Cup in Diriyah.

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📆 15-18 February 2023

📍 Diriyah, Saudi Arabia

🙌 Part of @DiriyahUrbanF@DiriyahSeason pic.twitter.com/4WlWKwNH8d

— FISE (@fiseworld) January 13, 2023

Soft power

To read the whole scene, we have to go through the theory of the political scientist "Joseph Nye", who believes that the interpretation of the relationship between sports and politics becomes more accurate when approached from the perspective of soft power, as that perspective will expand our ability to analyze when looking at Saudi Arabia's investment in sports.

Within a sports environment that inspires young people and contributes to building a new generation of sports heroes in #Saudi Arabia, sports fans follow, for 10 days, the competitions of the first edition of the #Saudi_Games.

#Saudi_Vision_2030 encourages participation in sporting activities, in order for the Kingdom to achieve excellence in international sporting events.

pic.twitter.com/oMyq93wF2O

- Saudi Vision 2030 (@SaudiVision2030) October 30, 2022

As "Joseph" believes that soft power is the ability to influence others, to obtain the result one wants through attraction rather than coercion, he also believes that achieving this result depends on the resources of the country that exercises influence from culture, values ​​and policies, when looking at sports investment Through this perspective, we will realize the pivotal role of sport in the global influence that countries can exercise. (16)

Where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia entered sports investment, and its plans are proceeding at a rapid pace and a huge amount of spending thanks to the “Vision of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030”, which is an ambitious plan launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2016, and here the role of sport appears (along with music, art, brands and technology with its ability impact on society, especially youth.

As part of #SaudiVision2030, #PIF aims to offer a fulfilling and healthy life for residents of #SaudiArabia through its investments in various sectors, including health, real estate, tourism, sports, and entertainment.

pic.twitter.com/T7MAkJs0D6

— Public Investment Fund (@PIFSaudi) February 6, 2020

However, the huge amount of spending accompanying this plan may prompt some to question its feasibility, but the results are what will ultimately separate the ardent supporters from the skeptics, and until then, those who look like Messi and Ronaldo will join successively, but the situation of this particular duo will become more problematic if Saudi Arabia submitted a file to host the 2030 World Cup, and the reason is simply that the two competing files are a joint file between Portugal, Spain and Ukraine, and another joint file between Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Chile. Can you imagine the situation then?!

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