Saudi Arabia suffers horrific blow despite millions of dollars in endorsement deals for Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi

Not all football deals offer satisfactory solutions. But Saudi Arabia’s recent approach to football goes beyond just signing players. The Saudi government has gone all out to publicize it. It has previously stated that it hopes to host the World Cup. In order to develop, they have introduced backbones such as Messi and Ronaldo. While the Saudi Professional League is making significant progress, are their aspirations taking shape?

The country is one of the top football nations in Asia. However, apart from football, the Gulf country also has an impressive infrastructure for other sports and tourism activities. This attracts a lot of athletes. Despite all their efforts, the country has suffered a number of disappointments, the latest of which was a heavy blow to their future plans.

FIFA deals major blow to Saudi Arabia

During the World Cup in Qatar, the Saudi Arabian national team unexpectedly defeated Messi’s Argentina team. The love story between Saudi Arabia and the World Cup has just begun. Saudi Arabia also hopes to host the 2023 Club World Cup and has long expressed its desire to host the 2030 World Cup, but the country’s dream of hosting the 2030 World Cup has been shattered.

FIFA announced that Morocco, Spain and Portugal have been selected to host the 2030 World Cup, following the United States, Mexico and Canada which will host the 2026 World Cup. In this case, a series of permutations and combinations worked against the Gulf Kingdom’s efforts.

Given the low likelihood of hosting a World Cup in the Middle East, the Saudi team has gone into the tournament with minimal expectations. Since the last World Cup was held in Qatar, eight years is too short a time to bring it back to the region.The country had also been linked with the likes of Egypt and Greece to co-host the country, but they opted out in June knowing their chances were slim.

However, their domestic investment continues, although hopes of hosting the prestigious tournament have been dampened by the recent announcement of the chosen host nation.

Gulf Kingdom brings in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo for promotion

In search of recognition, Saudi Arabia hired the best people in the world to back it up. Investments by government-backed entities run into the millions of dollars. Of note is the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Lionel Messi is one of the top ambassadors for Saudi tourism with a $25 million contract. Cristiano Ronaldo, on the other hand, was brought in by Al Nassr with the help of PIF and other in-house funding.

While these endorsements appear to be successful in the short term, are they worth it in the long run? Other bids for the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to play there have failed. As things stand, it looks like the country will bid for 2034. Overall, their approach seems aggressive, but it remains to be seen how long it will last.

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