Sports
What Ronaldo can expect in Saudi Arabia: Luxury malls, great pay and half-empty stadiums
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Cristiano Ronaldo wanted a Champions League swan song in the football cathedrals of Madrid, Milan or Munich, playing on the biggest stage with and against the most famous players in the game. Instead, the floodlights will fade on his glittering career at Mrsool Park, Al-Nassr’s compact stadium in the grounds of King Saud University, a mile up the road from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Investment building.
It is an incongruous setting, but when you consider the financial package Ronaldo has been offered to join Al-Nassr, the Ministry of Investment is perhaps an appropriate neighbour for his new club. The $75 million-a-year (£62m) contract Ronaldo has signed with Saudi Arabia’s second-biggest team — Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal, reigning Asian Champions League winners, are the Real Madrid in this part of the world — will certainly soften the blow of the 37-year-old’s diminished status that inevitably comes with his move to the Saudi Pro League, but surely it wasn’t meant to come to this.
When he made it clear he wanted to leave Manchester United in the summer, Ronaldo’s desire to move was driven by a determination to play in the Champions League. But there were no major European takers for his talents then and with United cancelling his contract during the World Cup, there have been none since. The lucrative contract offer from Al-Nassr, which has been on the table for almost two months, turned out to be the best, and only, option for one of the greatest footballers ever to have played the game.
His new teammates will include former Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina, Cameroon forward Vincent Aboubakar and Talisca, the Brazilian striker who leads the scoring charts in the Saudi Pro League with nine goals so far this season. Odion Ighalo, the former Manchester United forward, is one of three players in second place with six goals. Yet life in Saudi Arabia will be a whole new experience for Ronaldo, whose career so far has been based in the historic football cities of Lisbon, Manchester, Madrid and Turin.
Ronaldo will cause a stir in Saudi Arabia, a country with a well-resourced domestic league and national team, but he also risks being out of sight and out of mind following the switch.Social life in Riyadh seems to revolve around shopping malls. While Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy and an authoritarian state that strictly forbids alcohol consumption and employs religious police to uphold its strict interpretation of Islam, the growing power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has seen the country tentatively open up to Western influences in recent years.
It is in the malls where the new Saudi Arabia shows itself — a world in which Ronaldo will soon be immersed. For those who expect Ronaldo to be living in a country that does things differently to those in Europe and North America, they will be in for a surprise. It’s the same, but a little different.
The View Mall in central Riyadh could be anywhere in London, New York or Los Angeles. The multiscreen cinema is showing “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “Puss In Boots” and “Bed Rest,” and there’s a bowling alley adjacent to a gaming arcade. Families are eating dinner at Nando’s, buying cakes at Magnolia Bakery or watching football on the big screens while waiting to bowl at Bob’s Famous Eat, Bowl and Chill.
It is the same at the Kingdom Tower Mall across town, next to the Four Seasons Hotel, which could have been built for Ronaldo and his family. It is aimed at the rich (and famous) with Dior, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Victoria’s Secret all having stores in the four-floor shopping centre.Across the road, there is a Nike store. One footballer dominates the window with his huge image wrapped around the glass. He is a wearing a Manchester United shirt, but it isn’t Ronaldo: it’s Marcus Rashford.
Talk to Uber drivers, hotel staff or baristas in the coffee shops and they all know and love football. The majority claim to be supporters of Al Ittihad, the Jeddah-based team, and they all talk excitedly about Saudi Arabia’s recent World Cup showing in which they beat eventual champions Argentina 2-1. In terms of their favourite players, two stand out as being mentioned more than the others: Paul Pogba and Mohamed Salah. Nobody says Ronaldo or even Lionel Messi, who agreed a £25 million-a-year contract to become the face of the Saudi Arabia tourist board in May.
“Pogba and Salah are very popular, primarily because they are great players, but also because they are Muslim,” a source at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Sport told ESPN. “They also endorse Pepsi, which is a big thing in Saudi because Pepsi dominates the market ahead of Coca-Cola. Both players are huge names in this country, but the leading Saudi players are also very popular.”
Life as a leading footballer in Saudi Arabia is a privileged one, though it’s not just Ronaldo who will be given the star treatment.
As part of their contracts with the Pro League teams, the top players earn salaries comparable to those in the major European leagues. While their bottom-line income will not be on a par with the highest earners in the Premier League or LaLiga, the overall packages are so comprehensive that it is a rarity for a Saudi Arabian player to seek a move to Europe. One source told ESPN that the leading Saudi players are “treated like rock stars” and given “huge houses in the best compounds [gated, security-patrolled luxury accommodations] and whatever cars they like.”
There is also no income tax for Saudi nationals, with a 20% flat rate on tax-adjusted profit for non-Saudis. In short, Ronaldo — and all foreign players in the Pro League — will lose far less of his earnings than he would in any European league.
Ronaldo can expect all of the perks reserved for the best players in Saudi Arabia. A luxury villa in the prestigious Al Muhammadiyah compound, the best schools for his children and a fleet of the best cars. But he will still have to negotiate negotiate the less enjoyable aspects of Riyadh city life — like traffic jams and smog — just like everybody else.
Mrsool Park (Mrsool is an app-based delivery platform) holds just 25,000 spectators when full. It is neat and tidy, with yellow and blue seats to match Al-Nassr’s colours, but it is tiny compared to Ronaldo’s previous home stadiums at Old Trafford or the Santiago Bernabeu.
There’s also no club shop at the stadium. If you want to buy an Al-Nassr Ronaldo shirt with his trademark No. 7 on the back, you will have to take an Uber ride to the club’s small outlet 30 minutes away.The size of the stadium and lack of a club shop at the ground certainly underline the impression that Al-Nassr are not quite ready for the whirlwind of attention that Ronaldo will bring. Al-Ittihad are Saudi Arabia’s best-supported team, with an average attendance of 31,309 at their 62,000-capacity King Abdullah Sports City Stadium during the 2021-22 season. Reigning champions Al-Hilal averaged 13,192 fans-per-game at their 67,000-capacity King Fahd Stadium, while Al-Nassr could only muster an average crowd of 8,121 at Mrsool Park.
It has been a while since Cristiano Ronaldo last played a club game at a half-empty stadium, but he might have to get used to it in Saudi Arabia. His global fame will ensure an upsurge in interest in games, but it would be optimistic to expect full houses wherever he goes.
But while the Saudi Pro League is well-financed and backed by passionate fans — Al-Hilal’s ultras made plenty of noise during their recent friendly game against Newcastle in Riyadh — it will be a different challenge for Ronaldo. Ultimately, though, it is football and Ronaldo will not be able to expect an easy ride.
“Football in Saudi Arabia is real,” Ian Cathro, assistant manager at Al Ittihad, told ESPN. “When I came over here to work alongside Nuno Espirito Santo, after being on his staff at Wolves and Tottenham, one thing that struck me very quickly was how real it all is in the sense of it being competitive and passionate, just like everywhere else I have worked. The facilities are excellent, there is a genuine intensity here and the players are top quality, as we all saw with Saudi Arabia during the World Cup.
“There is also a real pride in that all of the best Saudi players still play in the domestic league. I’m sure that having Cristiano Ronaldo in the league will only make everything bigger and put Saudi Arabian football firmly on the map.” (ESPN)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
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