The key way European leagues can defeat the Saudi football takeover
Paul Macdonald
- Updated: 27 Jul 2023 12:04 BST
- 4 min read
Saudi Arabia's attempted takeover of sports is well underway, and football is the current target.
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has earmarked in the region of £18 BILLION to spend on transfer fees and salaries until 2030, which is their set date for diversifying revenue away from oil and energy and into other industries, such as tourism.
Their extravagant spending culminated in their audacious bid to lure Kylian Mbappe to the Saudi Pro League for a single season, offering a £900m package in order to do so. Mbappe ultimately turned them down but the bid to capture Mbappe can be seen as both a warning to Europe’s leading clubs, and also a message as to what Saudi are attempting, and what their limitations are.
READ MORE: Premier League 2023/24 summer transfers: All the Done Deals
The SPL is a fantasy tournament, not a sustainable future. The PIF has no intention to invest funds into the infrastructure of growing the game. They are not interested in raising the level of the Saudi players, or to provide a leg up for the quality of football in the middle East. it might be argued that would have been money better spent.
No, this is Football Manager with unlimited funds, being able to build teams of well-known, renowned figures who by necessity will shine a light on the region and form part of the overall idea that Saudi is Disneyland for adults, where a whole range of pastimes can be enjoyed - including watching some of football’s most talented stars.
And that’s where the opportunity can arise for European clubs. The PIF aren’t going on scouting missions. They are buying up names, people who will move the dial and shift focus and attention to what they are doing. There was never a debate about whether Cristiano Ronaldo would fit in with Al Nassr’s pressing tactics. Nor will there be a concern as to whether N’Golo Kante has had too many injuries, or Karim Benzema is past his best. It’s not about any of these things at all.
READ MORE: Saudi Pro League summer transfers 2023: All the Done Deals
It’s a glorified charity tournament but one that is costing billions to create. And if they buy enough good players, the standard will no doubt be worth watching, but it is by no means meant to be a hub for developing talent.
Fortunately for European football, they have spent hundreds of millions building academies and nurturing players - the problem has been that being at the top of the food chain has meant the easier option - simply buying someone - has always been available.
But what European football can do that the Saudis are not interested in contemplating is developing a swathe of new talent. The academies are in place, their scouting systems stronger than ever and there’s arguably more promising young players out there than ever before.
It could be argued that the pathway to first teams for these players has been perennially blocked; Chelsea have spent much of the last decade accumulating the best and brightest - they are even doing it now with their influx of Brazilians such as Angelo and Andrey Santos. But yet most of them never actually don the blue kit.
And so rather than running these academies as a futile exercise - or in the case of Manchester City, a talent factory to sell to other teams for inflated prices - these players can actually be played, developed and transformed into the future superstars. It’s how the conveyor belt is supposed to work and it has been largely lost, particularly in the Premier League, when the alternative is having the money to buy what is already the finished article.
And yes, it takes more effort. It requires minutes, patience, and elite coaching. But these are all things that Saudi is in no way interested in, and that’s where the advantage is created.
Because it’s clear; competing on any kind of financial plain is now impossible. Finding a reason for European football to remain the most attractive destination for players and the watching fans is something that has been taken for granted since forever - it’s time for UEFA, and its members, to start to get creative, and showcase their leagues in a whole new way.
