Review: Long before Cristiano Ronaldo switched from the Premier League to the Saudi Pro League, Ballon d’Or winner Hristo Stoichkov moved to the Gulf state
The Saudi professional league has flexed its financial muscle over the past 12 months by bringing in the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, but the Ballon d’Or winners are not the first to make such a switch Big name players.
Ronaldo moved to Al Nasr in a huge deal midway through last season, while Benzema followed suit in the summer after leaving Real Madrid. However, long before them there was Hristo Stoichkov.
Bulgaria striker Stoichkov impressed in the first of two spells at Barcelona, winning the European Cup final before the Champions League was renamed in 1992 and winning the Ballon d’Or two years later. However, in 1998 he joined Al-Nassr in a deal unlike any other.
As his second spell with Barca draws to a close, Stoichkov returns to his native CSKA Sofia. However, before the end of the 1997-98 season, Al Nasr came calling for a six-figure fee… and made just two appearances.
However, this isn’t a case of flopping big, taking the cash, and not being able to play in the tournament. Instead, the contract only covers those two games as Al Nasr bids to win the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup.
After defeating Qatari side Al-Ittihad on aggregate in the quarter-finals, Al-Nasr won the tournament for the first time in its history with just two wins. According to various reports, they thought it was worth sending £165,000 to Stoichkov to ensure this.
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Stoichkov failed to score in the semi-final against Turkmenistan’s Kopetdag, but Saudi Arabia’s all-time top scorer Majid Abdullah helped them win 2-1. In the final against Suwon Samsung Blue Wings, Stoichkov scored the only goal of the game and lifted the trophy for Al Nasr.
As he put it, the veteran left Saudi Arabia after a two-game cameo but still has five years left.Stoichkov’s late nomadic career saw him spend time in Japan and the United States, winning further trophies in both countries before retiring in 2003 at the age of 37: joining Ronaldo in Al -Same age as Nassr
The Asian Cup Winners’ Cup no longer exists and Al Nasser never added to Stoichkov’s list of titles. But now, the Riyadh-based team has bigger goals.
This summer, Ronaldo has welcomed more signings, including Champions League winner Sadio Mane, who joined from Bayern Munich, and Aymeric Laporte, who joined after winning the treble with Manchester City last season. The new arrivals will be aimed at helping the club improve on last season’s runners-up finish, although they currently sit second in the league after 11 games.
In the AFC Champions League, Ronaldo and Anderson Talisca scored three goals each to help Luis Castro’s side achieve a 100% group stage record after three games. Come May, they will celebrate their first continental title since Stoichkov’s success all those years ago.
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DAZN subscribers will be able to watch three games per week from the growing Saudi Professional League, which features some of the biggest names in world football. DAZN will also present eCristiano Ronaldo and former Liverpool legend Sadio Mane will bring fans to the front row seats for every minute of Al Nasr’s match.
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