Saudi League "Determined" to succeed

Saudi Arabian football league board member, British national Peter Hutton, confirmed that the Gulf Championship is "designed to be successful" and will continue to inject funds to attract some of the biggest names in the football world.

Hutton stated in an interview with BBC, "I believe the budgets are there to extend for several years, as you know, and I don't see that slowing down."

He added, "I have worked in sports for 40 years, and I have never seen such a big, ambitious, and determined project."

Following the high-profile signing of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo by Al-Nassr last winter, Saudi clubs have made several summer signings, including French players Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, Senegalese Sadio Mane, Brazilian Fabinho, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez.

These mega-deals have sparked some criticism due to lavish offers, while prominent football coaches have expressed their opinions.

Spanish coach Pep Guardiola, manager of Manchester City, the reigning champions of Europe and England, whose player Mahrez moved to Al-Ahli, stated that Saudi Arabia "has changed the transfer market" and is "looking to establish a strong league, and so far they have succeeded in doing so."

Meanwhile, German coach Jurgen Klopp of Liverpool expressed concern about the harmful consequences of the summer transfer window in Saudi Arabia, urging football authorities to find a solution, as European clubs are witnessing an exodus of players to the Gulf Kingdom.

However, Hutton considers that it is "not necessarily a bad thing" if European football loses some of its strength, noting that Saudi clubs are still spending a quarter or a fifth of what English Premier League clubs spent in the current transfer window.

He said, "This does not necessarily mean that Europe will not remain strong in world football in the future. But I say that this is not necessarily a bad thing. It's good that football is strong all over the world."

Hutton pointed out that the offer made by Al-Hilal to Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe and the acquisition of Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves (26 years old) from Wolverhampton Wanderers in England show that recruitment is not limited to senior players.

The British official expressed his confidence that commercial success will follow these deals.

He said, "When Ronaldo signed with Al-Nassr, suddenly we received this interest from international media. Last year, we ended up in more than 170 countries just after Ronaldo's signing. It's clear that it's something that caught the imagination of the media all over the world."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AFP