Sponsorships, power and money- West Asia’s rising influence in global football

While Saudi is the latest entrant among Arab nations’ investment in global football, the seeds were sown in the previous decade with the takeover of Man City and PSG.

Nasser Al Khelaifi of Qatar, Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Mansour of the UAE have invested heavily in European football. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

After Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive interview with Piers Morgan in November 2022, his exit from Manchester United looked inevitable. He said he felt ‘betrayed’ and that the club was trying to force him out.

Naturally, there was widespread speculation about his next destination post the Qatar World Cup. Though media reports suggested that he had a huge offer from Saudi Arabia on the table, the possibility of a move to the Saudi Pro-League seemed like a distant reality.

Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring the third goal against Al Shabab in the Saudi Pro-League. | Photo Credit: Ahmed Yosri/ REUTERS

Cut to December 30, Ronaldo had signed for Al-Nassr in a cash-rich deal worth more than 75 million USD a year. This was a statement signing for Saudi Arabian football, considering that there were strong reports of new Chelsea owner Todd Boehly wanting to bring the Portuguese superstar to the club.

The Stars of the Middle East

Ronaldo joined the likes of Santi Cazorla, Paco Alcacer, Rafinha and Ever Banega, in switching European nights for a good payday in the Middle East.

Six months into the new year, big names like Karim Benzema and reportedly N’golo Kante have already been snapped up by Pro-League club Al-Ittihad, furthering Saudi’s newfound pull in the global transfer market.

Al-Hilal reportedly offered a deal worth over 2 billion pounds to Lionel Messi before he decided to move to MLS club Inter Miami.

Gianni Infantino, FIFA Prsident, congratulates Xavi, captain of Al Sadd on winning the 2017 Emir Cup at Khalifa International Stadium on May 19, 2017. | Photo Credit: NEVILLE HOPWOOD/ Getty Images

Former Barcelona skipper, Xavi was one of the earliest to move to the Middle East. After winning the treble with Barcelona in 2015, he moved to Qatari club Al-Sadd, playing for four years before taking up the role of first-team manager. The initial deal reportedly involved making him the brand ambassador of the Qatar World Cup in 2022 and also had clauses allowing him to start his coaching badges.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has a majority stake in Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, All-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, also bought 80 per cent of Newcastle United. With this investment, the Magpies managed to strengthen its squad and clinch Champions League qualification for the first time since 2003.

While Saudi is the latest entrant among Arab nations’ investment in global football, the seeds were sown in the previous decade with Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan buying Manchester City in 2008 and Nasser Al-Khelaifi-led Qatar Sports Investments’ takeover of Paris Saint Germain (PSG) in 2011.

Abu Dhabi’s investment - The City Football Group

Before the takeover, Manchester City was merely termed as the ‘noisy neighbours’ of its city-rival Manchester United, which dominated the 2000s under Sir Alex Ferguson. But, things started changing after the financial injection, which allowed City to compete with United and attract big names like Carlos Tevez, Vincent Kompany and Robinho. Later, talents like Sergio Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure made their way to the blue side of Manchester, and the Cityzens suddenly were a force to be reckoned with.

Aguero’s dramatic 93rd-minute winner against Queens Park Rangers – which sealed City’s first Premier League title – was a poetic way to start a decade of dominance in the competition. The statement signing of Pep Guardiola was another major turning point, beginning the clubs’ ascendancy, with five league titles in six years. This season, not only did City secure its first-ever UEFA Champions League (UCL) title, it became only the second English club after Manchester United to seal a treble – Premier League, FA Cup and UCL.

Rodri of Manchester City celebrates with the UEFA Champions League trophy after the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 final. | Photo Credit: MICHAEL STEELE/ Getty Images

The on-pitch success has also translated to huge profits on the business side, with City heading the list of clubs generating the most revenue, in a list compiled by Deloitte. The ownership has not achieved this with just player signings. They have created a world-class academy – that has created players like Phil Foden.

The City Football Group has not only focused on Man City’s exploits in the Premier League but has built a thriving footballing culture by creating a global football network with investments in clubs like Girona FC (La Liga), New York City FC (MLS), Melbourne City FC (A-League) and Mumbai City FC (Indian Super League).  

PSG- Takeover by Qatar leading to domestic supremacy

PSG had won just two Ligue 1 titles before the Qatar takeover. Ligue 1 was dominated by Lyon, which won seven titles in a row between 2001 and 2008.

The map of top-flight French football though changed after the PSG takeover. With more funds at its disposal, PSG could attract some of the biggest names in world football – like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani – and begin marking its presence in the top level of European football.

In the twelve years since the takeover, PSG has won Ligue 1 nine times, becoming the most successful club in the competition with 11 league titles overall. PSG took the transfer market by storm in 2017, when it signed Neymar for 222 million euros from Barcelona, making him the most expensive player in the world to date. If that wasn’t enough, they shelled out 180 million euros to sign Kylian Mbappe from AS Monaco.

Paris St Germain’s Marquinhos and teammates celebrate winning Ligue 1. | Photo Credit: BENOIT TESSIER/ REUTERS

Despite domestic successes and heavy spending on the squad, PSG is still searching for its first UCL title. PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has become an important figure in European football in his capacity as Chairman of the European Club Association (ECA). He is also the Chairman of the beIN Media Group.

beIN and Qatar - making a foray into global football

The Qatar state-owned beIN Media group has been steadily rising as one of the leading broadcasters of global sports. After their foray into Spanish TV, they have obtained broadcast rights to some of the biggest competitions in Europe, like the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the UCL.

The group has a presence in over 43 countries, broadcasting in over nine languages. From being the dominant player in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, the group has branched into Europe, North America and Australasia.

beIN also held the exclusive broadcast rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in over 24 countries. The tournament saw viewership records being broken, with data research company Ipsos revealing a 113 per cent increase in viewership compared to the 2018 Russia World Cup.

Middle-East’s influence through investment

Middle-eastern presence in European football has also been spreading through sponsorships and investment. Middle-east airline companies like Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airlines have been associated with many of the top European clubs, like Arsenal, Man City, Real Madrid, AC Milan, PSG, Benfica and Barcelona over the last decade.  

Etihad and Emirates, both UAE-owned, reportedly spent over 160 million dollars in shirt sponsorships in 2014. Emirates is most known for its sponsorship of Arsenal’s football stadium at Ashburton Grove. It signed a fifteen-year deal with the club worth over 100 million pounds – which has now been extended to 2028 – and also secured a shirt-sponsorship deal for seven years.

Fans of Arsenal enjoy the new former Arsenal and Netherlands footballer Dennis Bergkamp statue prior to the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Sunderland at Emirates Stadium. | Photo Credit: Jamie McDonald/ Getty Images

Etihad on the other hand spent close to 400 million pounds on the naming rights and shirt sponsorship of Manchester City in 2010, which raised eyebrows considering the lower price of the Arsenal deal.

Qatar Foundation was Barcelona’s first-ever paid-for shirt sponsor in 2011. The non-profit organization, founded by the Emir of Qatar, signed a deal that was reported to be around 150 million euros in worth.

Many questions have been raised regarding these investments from state-owned forums but their roots have deepened since, and continue to do so with further investment.

Qatar makes a statement

Another significant milestone in the Arab influence over world football was Qatar’s winning bid for hosting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 2022 World Cup was the first to be held in the Middle East. Qatar braved stiff competition from the United States of America and Australia in securing the rights in 2010.

REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE- A general view of the Lusail Stadium in Lusail in Doha, Qatar, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022. | Photo Credit: Hassan Ammar/ AP

There was widespread scepticism regarding Qatar’s ability to build the necessary infrastructure in a comparatively short period and concerns regarding corruption and migrant worker welfare in the build-up to the tournament. The tournament itself, in footballing terms, was carried out seamlessly.

Saudi Arabia’s bid for the 2030 World Cup

Reports also suggest that Saudi Arabia is readying a bid for the 2030 FIFA World Cup. The governing body though, wouldn’t be willing to allow a second Middle-eastern country to host the event in eight years.

Saudi, therefore, is looking to woo Egypt and Greece to join hands as co-hosts. Reports also say that Saudi is willing to cover the entire infrastructure costs in the two countries in return for hosting 75 per cent of games in the tournament. The investment in bringing world-class players to the league and the roping in of Messi as Saudi Tourism’s brand ambassador are all said to be done with the hosting bid in mind.

Qatar’s next venture?

After the success of the 2022 World Cup, Qatar is making headlines after its former Prime Minister’s son Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani launched a bid to buy Manchester United from the Glazer family. If the deal goes through, it will reportedly be the most expensive takeover of a sporting entity, eclipsing Rob Walton’s purchase of the Denver Broncos.

Arab football has had its fairytale moments – be it Qatar winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2019 or Saudi’s win over Argentina in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. But to be on an equal footing with Europe there is still quite a way to go.

In the words of Cristiano Ronaldo, “If they continue to do the job they want to do here for the next five years, I think the Saudi league can be one of the top five leagues in the world.”