Cristiano Ronaldo earns 200 million euros per season in Saudi Arabia, but he does not have luxury everywhere he goes. The Portuguese star and his Al-Nassr teammates had an unpleasant experience away from Al-Fateh. What does the dressing room look like where CR 7 had to change.
In what conditions did Cristiano Ronaldo change?
Clubs in Saudi Arabia swooped in this summer and transferred big names from Europe, for whom they spent hundreds of thousands of euros, including Neymar and Karim Benzema. But not all teams in the Saudi ProLeague can afford this luxury and conditions to pamper their players with, except for those sponsored by the Public Investment Fund, namely Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad.
Cristiano Ronaldo was also convinced of this, in the overtaking of Al-Fateh, which his team, Al-Nassr, won 5-0, and he managed a hat-trick and an assist. But he was amazed to see under what conditions he had to change.
In the online environment, a photo of the dressing room for guests at “Prince Abdullah bin Jalawi Stadium”, an arena with 19,500 seats, is circulating. It is a small room, with some chairs on which the players’ equipment is placed, at the opposite pole from the luxury that prevails in the dressing room of the Al-Nassr formation.
The huge impact of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Saudi Arabia
Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Al-Nassr, both on and off the pitch, broke several records and had a huge impact on the competition, leading to a massive increase in revenue. One of the officials of the Saudi Arabian championship revealed how much the interest of football fans around the world has increased in this league after the arrival of CR7.
“Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to a team in Saudi Arabia helped broadcast the championship in 140 countries and increased the league’s revenue by 650%”revealed Carlo Nohra, representative of the Saudi Pro League.
Clubs in Saudi Arabia have so far paid almost €800 million to sign big-name players from Europe, plus €1.7 billion for their huge salaries. Al Hilal is surpassed only by Chelsea in this mercato, while Al-Ittihad spent 76 million euros on acquisitions.
Saudi Arabia has just one more target this summer. Mohamed Salah (31), the star of Liverpool, is strongly wanted by Al-Ittihad and is being lured with a huge salary. 175 million euros are prepared for Liverpool, while the player would receive a five-season contract and an income of 990 million euros.
