Al Nasr

At the age of 40, Cristiano Ronaldo has become the richest sportsperson in history. He has renewed his contract with Al Nassr Football Club of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a mind-boggling sum. The contract also makes him eligible to receive multiple bonuses in addition to an enormous salary. The signing amount itself is more than 24 million Pounds Sterling. If he renews the contract again next year, this will be further increased to 38 million pounds. That is only for signing the contract. Now his salary - that will be more than 14.83 million pounds per month totalling 178 million pounds per year. Plus, he will be given a bonus of 100,000 pounds for every goal that he scores. If his club wins the league title, he will earn 8 million more. If he is the top scorer, he will get 4 million pounds as bonus. He has been given a stake of 15 percent in the ownership of the club so his assets have grown by about 5 million pounds. But can money buy success? Why is the club from Saudi Arabia investing so heavily on a player who is 40 years in age and will not be able to continue playing for much longer? To know the reason for this unusual decision, one has to examine the matter from all angles and understand what the club management hopes to achieve. Key factors behind decision Al-Nassr is a multi-sports club and apart from football, its teams take part in handball, volleyball, and basketball. It has won numerous honours within Saudi Arabia and outside the country. The key factor behind all decision-making is in the ownership of the club. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), was created in 1971 to carry out investments on behalf of the government of Saudi Arabia. So in effect, it is the government which owns 75 percent stake in the club. If the government wants, it can pump huge amounts into the club and the game keeping an eye on the future. That is why this enormous amount of spending is possible. Now, what are the objectives that the government is trying to achieve? Firstly, there is the question of creating a global brand for Saudi Arabia and making the nation a magnet for commerce in the future. Right now, football in Saudi Arabia has sky high visibility. Ever since Ronaldo joined Al Nassr in 2022, the club's Instagram following surged from around 850k to almost 12 million. This is all because of the popularity of the Portuguese superstar of football. Ronaldo boosted sponsorship Ronaldo's presence also boosted sponsorship for the club. The club secured new broadcast deals and sponsorships, explicitly tied to Ronaldo's worldwide appeal over football fans all over the world. Moreover Saudi Arabia's image as a sports destination shot up. The country wants to be seen as a rival to the USA and Europe as far as world sport is concerned. That is their target and the entire sports system is ready to spend unimaginable sums of money to achieve their goal. The deal with Ronaldo is in keeping with Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and PIF strategy. The PIF backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth and Vision 2030 goals, acquired significant stakes in several clubs, one of them being Al Nassr. Bringing in global stars like Ronaldo is a core tactic to raise the Saudi football league’s stature and attract further investment. The Ronaldo effect Ronaldo’s move to become a player in Saudi Arabia instead of the famous European clubs kicked off a wave as several other well-known players switched loyalties. Leading players like Karim Benzema, N'golo Kante, and others followed Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro Football League in what is being dubbed by the media as the Ronaldo Effect. Since Ronaldo now is part owner of the club, he is likely to become the best-known face of the club in the future and a glamorous brand ambassador. The fact that he has been assigned a private jet aircraft and a managerial staff, are evidence of his ambassadorial status. By engaging in a contract with Ronaldo, Al Nassr Club and the Saudi government are trying to build a global symbol that has its roots in commercial and geopolitical ambitions. Ronaldo gives them instant credibility, media attention, and an influential brand image. In return, they’ve offered a level of compensation unmatched in the history of sports. Therefore, all said and done, it seems to be a win-win situation for all concerned. The legendary player has the opportunity to have a golden sunset before he walks away, while the club can look forward to a glittering image that will last for a long time and will rival the traditional big clubs of Europe. To what extent these dreams will fructify remains to be seen in the coming years.

Al Nasr

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