ZWF: The predictable outcome of the Saudi soccer splurge has arrived
Zander's Weekend Facts #102: Sunday, January 21, 2024
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, some of soccer’s top stars are regretful after moving to Saudi Arabia, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast! Episode 130 features a breakdown of the economic picture in the U.S. and determines whether the overall negative polling of the economy is warranted. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, January 21, 2024:
Soccer stars appear displeased in Saudi Arabia
Just as soon as they began congregating in the Arabian desert, many of soccer’s biggest names are already on the way out.
Last year, the Saudi Pro League, the top soccer league in Saudi Arabia, began recruiting many of the top stars in the sport such as N’Golo Kante, Neymar Jr., and most notably, Cristiano Ronaldo, to play in the upstart league. The Saudi league began play in 1976 but only began receiving significant attention in 2023 when the country’s Public Investment Fund began heavily investing in the league.
When players such as Ronaldo began departing top European clubs, it sent shockwaves throughout the sport. All of a sudden, a new competitor backed by seemingly limitless amounts of money began to take a stab at the world’s beautiful game, drawing some of the game’s top - albeit aging - talent to the Arab world in exchange for massive paydays.
However, the honeymoon period for Saudi Arabia appears to be coming to a close. As January has brought open the winter transfer window, many of Saudi’s big gets look to be on their way out of the Middle East.
England’s Jordan Henderson, who signed with Saudi club Al-Ettifaq last summer from Liverpool, is already back in Europe after terminating his deal and signing with Ajax in the Netherlands. Reports say Henderson’s former Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino, who joined Al-Ahli in the summer, could also be on the way back to Europe or return to Brazil, where he began his career. Former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema is also reportedly seeking an exit after joining Al-Ittihad seven months ago.
It’s not surprising to see these names appear in the tweets of Fabrizio Romano less than a year after they took a chunk of change. While the pay was surely adequate - and several players have noted that to be the reason why they made the move to Saudi - it likely became apparent that life in the Saudi Pro League was not all it was cracked up to be.
From The Athletic regarding Jordan Henderson’s stay:
“Despite saying he had “no regrets” over the transfer from Liverpool in October, there was a sense that Henderson had struggled to settle into his new surroundings.
During that month’s international break, he confided in friends that the standard of football wasn’t great, citing issues with the high temperatures and his family’s happiness, but the expectation was he would ride it out.
By the next international break in November, it became apparent that he was fed up.”
Henderson was one of Saudi’s more interesting signings. Henderson had long been a vocal proponent of the LGBTQ+ community while in England, including wearing rainbow-colored laces and donning a rainbow captain’s armband. So his move to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal, caused upheaval among his supporters.
However, the forbiddance of same-sex relations along with the rigid climate of the Arabian desert are not the only reasons why Saudi Arabia provides a less-than-ideal environment to grow the next top soccer league.
The Freedom House, which rates freedom statuses of every country in the world, gave Saudi Arabia just an eight out of 100 last year. The country, led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, has no elected leaders and has consistently been under the microscope for its atrocious human rights record.
As Freedom House notes, “Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties. … The regime relies on pervasive surveillance, the criminalization of dissent, appeals to sectarianism and ethnicity, and public spending supported by oil revenues to maintain power. Women and members of religious minority groups face extensive discrimination in law and in practice. Working conditions for the large expatriate labor force are often exploitative.”
In 2018, Saudi dissident and Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed after walking into a Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in what U.S. intelligence later determined was part of an operation led by 15 Saudi agents and approved by bin Salman himself.
On March 12, 2022, the country killed 81 people in a single day who were convicted on terrorism charges in what has been called the single largest mass execution in decades. That year, the government put a total of 196 people to death.
Amnesty International also finds that the country has a law requiring women to have a legal male guardian, unfair trials across the country are common, tortures people who are detained, and has banned protests and demonstrations.
Understandably, those many hindrances have tarnished the reputation of the country worldwide. So where has Saudi turned to get many back in their good graces? Sports.
In a tactic that’s been coined ‘sportswashing,’ the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has been investing billions in several sports across the globe. In addition to the country backing several of the Saudi Pro League’s clubs, the PIF has taken over ownership of the English Premier League’s Newcastle United, has brought a Formula One race and top tennis competitions to the country, is looking into investing billions in the world’s largest cricket league, the Indian Premier League, and began the upstart LIV Golf league a few years ago. Last year, LIV announced plans to merge with the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, and had to extend those negotiations beyond the end of last year after failing to finalize the deal.
The country notes that these efforts are a part of its ‘Vision 2030,’ an effort to diversify the country’s economy outside of oil. And while that is definitely a smart play as the world looks to move away from fossil fuels in the coming decades, acceptance of Saudi’s intrusion into the sporting world should not come freely. The country’s abysmal record on human rights should not be forgotten until the government actively takes steps to right its wrongs. (And jumping up from a seven to an eight - out of 100 - in the Freedom House rankings does not show signs of progress.)
But for those who did not enjoy their stay on the Arabian peninsula, Saudi Arabia and its soccer league still have their cheerleaders.
Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most recognizable names on the planet, has continued to defend the country that signed him to an up to $200 million per year deal last year. Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr, has laughably claimed that the Saudi Pro League is above the top-flight leagues in France, Portugal, and the United States. Ronaldo said just a few days ago, “I am not arrogant, but the future is changing and the whole world is changing, and I decided to give my passion to this country. Saudi Arabia is a wonderful country and truly deserves it.”
Of course, Ronaldo has been accused of raping a woman in Las Vegas back in 2009, so he might actually believe that a country that only began allowing women to drive cars in 2018 is a wonderful country.
Ronaldo and another man were also accused of rape in London in 2005, but not enough evidence was presented to bring forward any charges. Ronaldo was also found guilty of tax evasion in a deal made with Spanish authorities that allowed him to serve a two-year suspended jail sentence under probation.
But to his point about the quality of the Saudi Pro League, there appears to be little evidence to back up his farcical belief. While there is no common metric to determine the best soccer leagues worldwide, Opta Analyst provides helpful metrics to go by.
In its rankings of the top ten leagues worldwide last year, Opta listed France’s Ligue 1 at #5, with Portugal’s Primeira Liga sitting at #8. The Saudi Pro League? Nowhere in sight. With the top ten teams in each league ranked only, Ligue 1 and Primeira Liga still make the list, while the Saudi league does not.
And Opta even did us the favor of comparing the United States’ Major League Soccer and the Saudi Pro League head-to-head. The result? While Saudi does have the strongest club out of the bunch (Al-Ittihad), MLS comes out on top in terms of average power ranking.
So while Ronaldo may have scored 54 goals last calendar year, he unfortunately did so in the Camel League.
Even in terms of attendance, the Saudi league comes in extremely subpar.
So far this season, the 18 clubs of the Saudi Pro League have averaged 8,345 fans per game. Meanwhile, in France, Ligue 1 is averaging 26,608 fans per game this season, while Portugal’s Primeira Liga has averaged 11,620 fans per game during the current campaign. And even little ole’ MLS, which began play 20 years after the Saudi league, averaged 22,170 fans per game last season. No MLS club averaged fewer than 15,000 fans per game in 2023.
Saudi’s attendance struggles appear to be even worse than the aforementioned statistics. Multiple games this season have had fewer than 1,000 people show up, and there have been at least two games this season where less than 200 people came out for a match.
Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr teammate, Sadio Mané, had this to say when asked whether he has received less coverage due to playing in the Saudi league, “That's what you think because I'm not in Europe. This is sad for you guys. Because, for you guys, if you don't play in Europe, it doesn't matter. I'm not around as a football player. Fortunately, I can say the Saudi league is a very good league, and watched by everybody in the world, so, for me, as long as I'm doing my best and I'm enjoying myself every single minute, that's more important.”
Mané may be hanging around Ronaldo too much because he’s appeared to have caught a bit of the ‘lying bug.’
How can it be true that “if you don’t play in Europe, it doesn’t matter” when a player who does not play in Europe just won the Ballon d'Or and The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, the two biggest annual individual player awards in the game? That player, Lionel Messi, plays for Inter Miami in MLS. Which I believe is not located in Europe.
When Messi came to play for Miami, the fans showed out. When Ronaldo went to Saudi Arabia, it did not appear to have had the same effect.
Undoubtedly, the low attendance figures and lesser quality of play will not deter Saudi leaders from continuing to invest in their league. However, with oppressive climate conditions, little fan support, and an unwelcoming culture, it’s hard to see how even a virtually unlimited spending spree will keep soccer’s top stars coming to the Middle East when some have already realized the mistake they’ve made.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from ESPN - Ex-Man City star Laporte on Saudi move: Many players unhappy
What Zander’s been reading
The United States Geological Survey released a new map showing which areas of the country have the highest chance of experiencing a destructive earthquake in the next 100 years. Take a look at the map to see which areas in the U.S. face the highest risk.
Check out this week’s featured article at CBS News - Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience a damaging earthquake in the next 100 years, new USGS map shows - (Apple News link)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
GOP Primaries: Former President Donald Trump took over 50% of the vote, along with 20 delegates, and won last Monday’s Iowa Caucuses. Trump came nearly 30 points higher than Florida Governor Ron Desantis, who placed in second with 21% and nine delegates. Former South Carolina Governor and UN Ambassador Nicki Haley came in third with 19% and eight delegates. After the Caucus results had been announced, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race. The next contest on the Republican presidential primary calendar is the New Hampshire Primaries, which take place on Tuesday. Polling shows Trump with a double-digit lead over Haley, averaging 48% compared to Haley’s 34% with DeSantis lagging at 5%.
Government Funding: Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed a bill last week that will fully fund the federal government through the beginning of March. Bipartisan majorities of both chambers of Congress passed the short-term funding bill to avoid a partial government shutdown, which would have begun last Friday night. Earlier this month, congressional leaders announced they had reached a deal on the overall spending limit for the remainder of the year. Congress now has until March 1 to pass a funding bill or risk a partial shutdown. Attention appears to be turning towards funding for both Ukraine aid and border security, with congressional leaders meeting with President Biden at the White House last week regarding those issues.
Cold Weather: A deep cold spell swallowed much of the U.S. last week, resulting in record lows for millions of people. Daily record lows were broken last week in Billings, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle. on the West Coast. Cities in the midwest also hit daily record lows including Houston, Kansas City, Memphis, and St. Louis. As wind chill advisories were issued from Montana to Florida, the cold has been blamed for at least 61 deaths last week, coming from hypothermia or car accidents due to snow and ice.
Stock Market High: The S&P 500 hit a record high on Friday, leading the stock market to start the year off strong. At the close of the market on Friday, the S&P 500 stood at 4,839.81, passing the previous record set on January 3, 2022. The market then slumped for the remainder of that year with the S&P 500 losing 19% for the year. The index rebounded in 2023, gaining 24% on the year, and is now in positive territory for 2024. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed on Friday at 37,863.80, hitting a record high earlier in the day at over 37,900. The NASDAQ Composite closed at 15,310.97, short of its all-time high of over 16,000 hit in late 2021.
Kroger-Albertsons Merger: In 2022, the two largest grocery store chains in the U.S., Kroger and Albertsons, announced plans to merge. However, the Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing the proposal for over one year, and on Monday, the attorney general of Washington state sued the two companies in an attempt to block the merger. Attorney General Bob Ferguson argued that less competition would result in higher prices, while the companies contend that a merger is necessary to compete with rivals like Amazon, Costco, and Walmart. The FTC will reportedly weigh in on the merger next month.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Playoffs: Both top seeds won Saturday’s Divisional Round postseason games, with two more set for Sunday. Yesterday, the #1 Baltimore Ravens beat the #4 Houston Texans 34-10 to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2012, the year they last won the Super Bowl. Also on Saturday, the #1 San Francisco 49ers came from behind at home to beat the #7 Green Bay Packers 24-21, advancing to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in five seasons. At 3:00 pm ET later today, the #4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the #3 Detroit Lions on NBC, with the winner taking on the 49ers next Sunday. Then at 6:30 pm ET on CBS, the #2 Buffalo Bills host the #3 Kansas City Chiefs. The winner of that game will visit the Ravens next week.
NFL Coaching Carousel: Only one of the seven teams without a head coach made a hiring last week. The Las Vegas Raiders announced on Friday that interim head coach Antonio Pierce had garnered the full-time job after leading the team to a 5-4 record after Josh McDaniels was fired in October. The Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Los Angeles Chargers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Commanders still do not have a head coach. The latest reports show that former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has interviewed with the Falcons twice, while University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has interviewed with the Chargers and Falcons.
College Basketball Upsets: Men’s college basketball has been filled with upsets since the beginning of the year. This season, 21 top 10 AP ranked teams have lost on the road to unranked opponents, tied for the 1965-1966 season for the most through January in the AP Poll era. On Saturday alone, two top teams in the Big 12 fell as West Virginia upset #3 Kansas 91-85 and #9 Baylor fell to Texas 75-73. Earlier in the week, #9 Baylor had lost to Kansas State 68-64 while #10 Memphis lost at home to South Florida 74-73. And for the first time since 2016, Gonzaga dropped out of the AP Top 25 after having lost to Santa Clara 77-76. Gonzaga’s 143 consecutive weeks in the poll were the most in the country, with Houston now having the highest active streak at 75 weeks.
The Best FIFA Awards: Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi added another trophy to his collection last week when he was awarded the 2023 FIFA Best Men's Player award. Messi beat out Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to be crowned for the second consecutive year, despite the 2022 World Cup title not being included in this year’s voting timeframe. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati won the Best Women’s Player award after leading Spain to their first Women’s World Cup title last year.
Sports Illustrated: The future of acclaimed sports magazine Sports Illustrated is in peril after mass layoffs were announced on Friday. The Arena Group, which has an agreement with SI owner Authentic Brands Group to publish the magazine, missed a $3.75 million payment to Authentic that resulted in a breach of the agreement. Authentic then terminated the agreement, triggering a $45 million payment that Arena must make to Authentic immediately. As a result, Arena informed SI employees of layoffs on Friday that could gut the entire editorial staff in three months. Sports Illustrated began publishing in 1954 and was known for its iconic cover features including the biggest names in sports.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, January 28, 2024.
