‘Will you ever go?’ I can’t dismiss it as a jirashi anymore. Oil money that strained Europe. Saudi Arabia is rocking the soccer game this summer.

Can the English Premier League, which is also concentrated on capital in Europe, be used this much. A league that guarantees hundreds of billions of won in annual salary has emerged in Asia. Saudi Arabia is encroaching on the world class with a bundle of money, as it claims to be the most economically potential place.

Until now, the Saudi Arabian League has not been in the public’s interest. It is known as a league that is rich in capital and gives sufficient compensation to its players. Therefore, the expression that Saudi Arabian players do not advance to Europe was not excessive.

There was also a calm wave in it. Al-Ittihad, who turned to foreign players in the early 2000s and spent money on them, won the Asian Football Confederation Champions League (ACL) for the second time in a row and briefly earned the title of Asian gangster. However, it was not a destination that talented foreign players continued to visit. To put it bluntly, it was an area with clear limits.

However, the transfer that eroded the issue of the Qatar World Cup last winter will take place. Cristiano Ronaldo, who is proud of being the world’s best, joined hands with Saudi Arabia. The world has paid attention to his unfamiliar trip to Al-Nasr, which he said must be Europe. Turns out Al-Nasr didn’t get Ronaldo for nothing. He promised an annual salary of 200 million euros (about 288.9 billion won) that he had never heard of before. Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia as he could earn the highest salary in the world even if he left Europe.

Ronaldo’s transfer had a huge impact. The big name opened the way to Saudi Arabia. Ronaldo himself emphasizes, “I had a 100% influence on superstars coming to Saudi Arabia.” As Ronaldo said, Saudi Arabian clubs are collecting big names this summer, regardless of who comes first.

Another trigger was Karim Benzema (R Ittihad). I was in the middle of a perfect twilight in Real Madrid. He has just won the Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious award in Europe. However, he decided to transfer to Al-Ittihad, which promised to invest with the same salary as Ronaldo.

Al-Ittihad was very aggressive, as if to regain his old reputation. In addition to Benzema, he also invested 47 million euros in Fabinho, who was in full swing at Liverpool. He also got N’Golo Kante, who was considered the best in Chelsea. Kante also pays an annual salary of 100 million euros.

Al-Hilal, the most prestigious team, also joined hands. Al-Hilal, who conquered the Saudi Arabian league 18 times, opened the door with Kalidou Koulibaly as the challengers grew in size. He then brought Huven Neves, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Malcolm. These three have great implications. Saudi Arabia has come to be no longer a frontier for players in their 20s. It is a transfer that announced that temptation works even if it competes with Europe.

Immediate power gathered in Saudi Arabia than veterans who are about to retire in earnest. Al Ahli, who was relatively well behind, responded with Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez, Alain Saint-Maximain and Eduard Mendy, who played in the Premier League. Mahrez helped Manchester City’s treble until just a few months ago, and Saint-Maximain is a dribble that was also on the hands of the Premier League. Mendy has also defended Chelsea’s goal. There is still more of a big deal. Barcelona midfielder Frank Kessier is also close to signing.

In addition, it is necessary to use Liverpool’s connection to secure manager Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson, and to pay attention to Al Etipark, which embraces Moussa Dembele. Al-Nasr, who first announced the power of oil money with Ronaldo, also hit the climax with Sadio Mane following Marcelo Brozovic, Seko Popana and Alex Telex. Mane is a big name who has been the top scorer in the Premier League and played for Bayern Munich until recently.

Saudi Arabia quickly became a league with two Ballon d’Or winners. In addition, it has become a place to solve questions about what it would be like if the world class gathered together. Some predict that it will not be long, as the Chinese Super League has experienced in the past. But Saudi Arabia, which has given reasonable sums to more weighty players than then, has certainly taken a chance to revive.

In the 2023-24 season, the Saudi Professional League will broadcast live exclusively in Korea on SPOTV NOW, run by the sports broadcasting channel SPOTV. It is also available on premium sports TV channels SPOTV ON and SPOTV Prime. 토토