Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema landed together at Concha Espina during the summer of 2009 with the return of Florentino Perez to the Santiago Bernabeu and, for nine seasons, they formed the best duo in the history of Real Madrid. Or, at least, in its most recent era.
Now, with both in the twilight of their respective careers, the ‘rebellions’ staged by both in recent days have shaken Saudi Arabia in a final stretch of the market that seemed relatively quiet.
To put things in context, it is worth clarifying certain key issues in the operation of the Saudi Pro League in recent times. In its aim to diversify the country’s sources of income, the PIF (Public Investment Fund) has made a strong commitment to the development of its league and, to accelerate it, has directly intervened in four clubs that are under its control: Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli. From there, other clubs such as Al Qadsiah, Al Shabab, Al Ettifaq or NEOM are ultimately owned by some of the most powerful companies in Saudi Arabia.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo in the winter of 2023 set in motion a machinery that has not stopped investing exorbitant amounts of money since then, altering the normal functioning of the market until then. Karim Benzema joined Al Ittihad six months later after finishing his contract with Real Madrid, and Al Hilal invested 90 million euros to sign Neymar.
Less than three years later, Benzema has raised his hand. Less than six months before the end of his contract, the information published by L’Equipe last week is that Benzema would have felt insulted by the renewal offer presented by Al Ittihad and, therefore, would have declared himself in rebellion. In fact, he has not participated in the last duels against Al Fateh and Al Najma.
Seeing Al Ittihad’s refusal to let Diaby or Kante leave, the feeling is that this situation was going to drag on until his contract expired in June. However, the departure of Marcos Leonardo – who is no longer considered a U21 player – to Atletico Madrid would now make sense because of the offensive that Al Hilal would have launched to secure the services of Benzema in this winter market. However, it is still strange… considering that, although the sporting directions are different, both clubs are controlled by the PIF
In any case, this move for Benzema that Al Hilal would be willing to make in the last few hours has unleashed the ire of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has also declared himself in rebellion and will not play for Al Nassr this afternoon against Al Riyadh in the midst of the battle for the Saudi Pro League title with Al Hilal. It would, in fact, be the first official title he has won since his arrival in Saudi Arabia.
A gap of 215 million
According to information published in ‘A Bola’, Cristiano feels that the PIF does not support all the clubs under its control in the same way. To a certain extent, he is not wrong. According to data provided by ‘Transfermarkt’, Al Hilal has invested a total of 624 million euros since the summer of 2023, compared to Al Nassr’s 409 million euros. Behind them are Al Ahli (380) and Al Ittihad (334) with more even figures.Clubs with the highest spending in Saudi Arabia (2023-2026):
- Al Hilal: €624m
- Al Nassr: 409 million
- Al Ahli: 380 million
- Al Ittihad: $334 million
- Al Qadsiah: $213 million
The situation, far from being corrected, has worsened during this last window, as Al Nassr has only brought in Haydeer Abdulkareem, a young Iraqi midfielder from Al Zawraa, while Al Hilal has strengthened its squad with names such as Kader Meite (Rennes/30), Murad Al-Hawsai (Al Khaleej/8.3), Sultan Mandash (Al Taawoun/3.43), Pablo Mari (Fiorentina/2) and Rayan Al Dossary (Al Khaleej).
In total, Al Hilal has invested more than 40 million in these players… while waiting to close deals for Karim Benzema and the talented Simon Bouabre, formerly of Monaco. At Al Nassr, however, no more moves are expected in this final stretch of the market. This is especially true given the information published in A Bola that Simao Coutinho (sporting director) and Jose Semedo (CEO) have had their powers ‘frozen’ since the beginning of the month by a decision imposed by the Board of Directors.
All this ‘mess’ has only served to further increase the level of ‘crispation’ of a Cristiano Ronaldo who already left the last match between Al Hilal and Al Nassr tremendously ‘hot’. After putting Jorge Jesus’ side ahead in the first half, Al-Dawsari equalised from the penalty spot after a controversial penalty… and the red card shown to Al Aqidi ended up tilting the match in favour of Simone Inzaghi’s men.
It is clear that this is a soap opera with many edges and it does not seem to have a simple solution that will please all parties. But, in this case, it seems that Cristiano is going to have to end up giving in… because he has more to lose if he prolongs his rebellion. Especially if he wants to reach the milestone of 1,000 goals in his career as soon as possible.
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