Is Saudi Arabia Buying Soccer? Why the Saudi Pro League's Billion-Dollar Deals are Raising Red Flags for the Future of the Sport

By: Nihaal Oberoi

Saudi Arabia's aggressive venture into world soccer raises very valid concerns about the quality and integrity of the sport. With Saudi Pro League salaries through the roof to attract players in the latter stages of their careers, the country's recent forays into soccer have been branded "sportswashing" by its critics. Big-name players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar Jr. have all been lured toward Saudi Arabian clubs, often on contracts well out of reach for what even the top teams in Europe could afford to pay sustainably.

For instance, Ronaldo's $315 million deal with Al-Nassr FC and Benzema's move at an astonishing $400 million on transfer fees to Al-Ittihad are record-breaking salaries worldwide in soccer. Neymar's pressuring of a transfer from Paris Saint-Germain to Al-Hilal at only 31 years old was especially disappointing because he joined what Givemesport.com ranked as the 27th-best league globally-essentially taking him out of the top-level competition needed to compete for awards like the Ballon d'Or. And the king's ransom offers aren't limited to aged stars: even Kylian Mbappé, arguably one of the best players in the world today, turned down a one-year $700 million contract - the most resounding indicator of all that the Saudi league is warping the sport's economic ecosystem into something unprecedented.

Of course, there is more to it than personal contracts alone; the very financial model is bound to destabilize. Other leagues work with a salary cap, but the Saudi Pro League clubs are able to offer an amount that not even the richest of European teams were able to match. The broader issue here is that such unbridled spending does not just dilute the talent pool that Europe enjoys but also takes the focus of professional soccer away from skill and sportsmanship and toward financial appeal.While these sports projects may elevate Saudi Arabia in the eyes of the world, this bunch of oil-fueled contracts is threatening to choke off organic competitiveness and development in the sport. The more players that continue to make these high-paying offers the priority, the more the global soccer landscape threatens to take on a decided imbalance-one that is motivated more by cash flow than actual talent and hard work.