Esteve Calzada (Lleida, 1966) is the Spanish CEO of Al Hilal, the most successful team in Saudi Arabia and the whole of Asia (eight Champions League titles), which includes players such as Bono, Joao Cancelo, Lodi, Ruben Neves, Mitrovic and Milinkovic-Savic. Next Wednesday they will be the first opponent of Xabi Alonso’s new Real Madrid in the Club World Cup. The Catalan executive, with a proven track record at Manchester City and Barcelona, reviews the current state of Saudi football and his expectations for the tournament.
QUESTION: What is your assessment of the year and a half you have been in charge of Al Hilal?
It’s spectacular. It’s an experience at a time in my professional life when I wasn’t expecting this change and I was lucky enough to come and work at the most important club in Asia. The first year was spectacular with a lot of sporting success and this second year has been more difficult, but the balance is extremely positive: to get to know a new country, to see that things are being done very well and that the potential is enormous.
What mandate did the president, Fahad bin Nafel, give you when he hired you?
My arrival is part of a plan to professionalise Saudi football that had a key moment when the Saudi sovereign wealth fund bought 75% of the four biggest clubs. A process of professionalisation began which led to the arrival of different executives at an international level. I am asked the same thing that any board of directors of a football club asks its CEO: to manage the club responsibly, collaborating as much as possible to win titles, but more from the economic side of generating income and managing efficiently. To set budgets and to meet them, not to deviate.
Some agents and footballers do not understand that we have budgets to meet, that we do not have unlimited resources and that we do not print money
What surprised you most about Saudi football?
The level of the league has increased a lot with the arrival of high-quality players. But what stands out the most is the attitude of the fans, the madness that exists here for soccer. Unlike what happened in China years ago, where they wanted to promote the country through soccer, here there is really a love for soccer. The madness of the fans, what they are capable of doing for their team and what they consume, how active they are especially on social networks is something I had not seen. That thing that the day your team loses you are not hungry for dinner, here it applies to the fullest. It’s the topic of conversation in the office, there is a lot of rivalry, really the fans here are spectacular.
Have you noticed the progression of the Saudi Pro League in this time?
Certainly. More and more top players have been arriving and in the meantime the organisation of the 2034 World Cup was confirmed, which involves great performances especially in terms of stadium development, and we are seeing more and more sponsors coming in, increased attendance at stadiums, growth in social media followers… For example: when we made the signings of international players, led by Neymar, we grew a lot on social media and now we have more than 40 million followers; and when Neymar left in January we didn’t lose the followers but they stayed following our content, that shows a genuine interest in the competition. You know this well because at MARCA you have the broadcasting rights and I’m sure you see how the audiences are growing.
What is the difference in intensity between football in South America and Europe?
Yes, there are some differences. Here there is even more pressure. In our case, because of our position as the most important club in the country and on the continent, we care a lot about the opinion of the fans and we try to make decisions obviously thinking about what is best for the club, but also thinking about what our fans want. We see it on a day-to-day basis and it confirms that we are operating in parameters that are increasingly similar to European soccer.
What is the next step in the development of Saudi football?
There is no concrete step, but steps are being taken in different areas. The next important challenge is to consolidate the distribution of our product internationally in terms of television rights, to get it in more countries, on more TV channels and, if possible, on free-to-air, because this allows us to reach more people. This starts a mechanism in which with more audiences you attract more sponsors, get more followers and achieve the process of generating revenue that ultimately results in the opportunity to invest in the team at a sporting level.
In Spain, there is a widespread feeling that Saudi soccer has unlimited financial resources and can sign whichever players they want with unthinkable offers. How much of this is reality and how much is myth?
Let’s say it was a reality some time ago and now it is evolving into a myth. We operate on a budget that we have to meet and it is true that sometimes some players or some agents do not understand that. We have a competitive advantage over other markets: here the agreed amounts are net because of the country’s tax system. Really what a player can earn in Saudi Arabia will always be much more than what he can earn in Europe. But clearly we don’t have unlimited resources and we don’t print money. In fact, we have let opportunities to sign players slip away precisely because they thought the money was inexhaustible and we have to manage the club sustainably and reasonably.
Last year Al Hilal won the Saudi Pro League, this time they finished second, eight points behind Benzema’s Al Ittihad, and in the Asian Champions League they reached the semifinals. How do you assess the season?
If I were speaking from Europe, I would say that it is a good season because you have finished second, you have qualified for the Champions League, you have won the Super Cup by beating Al-Nassr in a four-team format, it would be a decent season. However, because of what is expected of us in Saudi Arabia, because of the strength of the team and its leadership vocation, the season is bad, because here anything other than winning the League or the Champions League is not to meet the objectives at the beginning of the season. Anything other than winning the league cannot be considered a success.
We are not going to sign on loan for the Club World Cup a player from our rival even if he is willing to come. That is not the organic thing about football, they are a little strange situations
How many calls from agents and intermediaries do you receive in a normal week?
Many, especially via WhatsApp. As we are active in the player market in the Saudi League, everyone is interested to know if a certain rumor is true or to know the negotiations. They always put us that we are interested in such a player and sometimes it is true, but many others it is not. They use us a little bit, like in the first period of Manchester City, when they used you to improve contracts with their current club. I get a lot of calls and messages from both agents and journalists, but I can’t keep up or I just don’t have anything to comment on. With this issue of signings and journalists at Al Hilal we came to the conclusion that we would not comment on rumors, our policy is directly not to say anything.
What have those calls been like in the weeks leading up to the Club World Cup?
Although we have not made any relevant signings, and this has been personally handled by our president, it has been a strange window because it is something new. The president and those of us who are helping him have been very active in analyzing different operations, but it has been a very atypical market where you do not want to make decisions thinking about one competition only because then you have to maintain that decision for the rest of the season. Some of the players we might be interested in were thinking more about vacations or had their heads set on playing a different tournament. There has been a lot of movement, but in the end we have not done any business. First because we have a lot of confidence in our team, and second because the circumstances have not been right, including the fact that there are people who have gone crazy with the amounts they ask for, they think we can reach any figure. So we are going to go to the World Cup to compete with our team, which is at a very good level and has already given us a lot of joy.
Has there been any special offer that has surprised you ahead of the Club World Cup?
It’s not possible to tell everything, but there have been complex situations, because loan operations could also be worked only for the competition. But in the end that is not the organic thing about soccer, they are a little strange situations. We are not going to bring a player from our rival even if he is willing to come. It is the first time we are faced with this transfer window, we will see it every four years and we will see where it takes us. It has been difficult for us to find our place, including finding the right coach who could take charge of the team for the tournament.
Is it in your plans to sign a big European star to replace Neymar after the Club World Cup?
We are not looking for a representative figure as such, what we want is players of immediate performance and to help us be more competitive. Of course, Neymar was a very important player with a very important budget, and we are active to find top players to help us strengthen the team, but not necessarily a replacement for Neymar as such, but to bring as we have already done the best players in their best sporting moment.
Was there ever any thought of renewing Neymar’s contract after his serious ligament injury?
He didn’t want to because he required a recovery process even when he was already cured of his injury. We needed maximum competitiveness, because the problem is that there is a limit of foreign players that we can use. Otherwise, we would have been delighted to be able to count on him, but that meant that he takes the place of another player who is already in full performance. So we resolved it six months before the end of the contract.
Seeing the signings that Manchester City, Real Madrid and other European participants in the Club World Cup have made, it is surprising that at Al Hilal the two reinforcements they have made are footballers who come from there: Ali Lajani (Al Nassr) and Abdulkarim Darisi (Al Ahli).
Yes, but as I have already said, the circumstances have not been right. We were very clear about the positions to be strengthened and which players were suitable for them, but we were also clear about our budgets and how far we could go. This year that is added to the sporting factor of whether the player is going to be available for the World Cup or not. We have not made any moves for this mini Club World Cup market. The transfer window is going to be open during the summer, which is the most important thing: to continue strengthening the team to win again. Because on the first day of the new season we have to go out to win the league and the Champions League, although obviously before that there is the Club World Cup which we are very excited about and we will give everything to go as far as possible.
Simone Inzaghi was always our first choice for the bench, but we were surprised by the level of world-class coaches who have offered to come to Al Hilal
Where they have strengthened is on the bench with Simone Inzaghi. What are your expectations with him? How was the negotiation?
It has been a complicated negotiation but we are very happy because we have brought in a world-class coach, among the best in the world, with proven success and who has got the best out of squads that have not necessarily been made with big players. He did not win the Champions League but he has reached two finals in three years. What complicated and delayed the process was, first, that he wanted to think about it because he was very attached to Inter and especially that at the level of ‘timings’ he had the final of the Champions League and with all due respect asked us to be focused on it to make a decision just after. It was not a long process. I want to thank the work of the president, who has been personally involved and has worked very hard to get this great signing. We were very clear that Simone Inzaghi was our first choice. What pleasantly surprised us is the level of coaches who have offered themselves, world-class coaches who wanted to come to Al Hilal and that we would have considered if we had not had the opportunity to sign Simone.
Is Inzaghi concerned about the short adaptation time for such a demanding competition as this Club World Cup?He is not worried at all, he is tremendously excited. But we cannot expect a 100% polished team with a new coach who has had very few sessions to prepare it. It is incredible that the league ends and the players have to go with their national teams, some of them for friendlies, although in our case most of the matches were important. It is a difficult environment to prepare for, but we have a squad and a team that has shown it is capable of winning and we are very excited about the competition.
What is your assessment of Jorge Jesus’ time in charge?
Jorge Jesus is a very kind and very professional person, but in the end the maxim of football prevails and our level of demand for results is very high. We reached the end of the season with a certain risk not only of not winning the league, but also of not entering the Champions League, and that would have been a problem. It was also the case that when Al-Ahli won the Champions League, unlike in Europe, in Saudi Arabia three teams go to the Champions League regardless of whether one wins the tournament. Then Al-Ahli won it and ‘ate’ one of the places, so that only the top two went to the Champions League, when everyone expected that the top three would go. So until the last game it was not confirmed that we were going to go to the Champions League and there we came to the conclusion that it was better to make a change. But obviously Jorge Jesus will go down in history at this club for some spectacular results.
What does it mean for the most successful team in Asia to play in this tournament?
We like to play these tournaments because they allow us to see our level with respect to European football. And we have a history of success with very important players, look at Ruben Neves scoring the penalty with which Portugal wins the Nations League and playing at a very good level. We want to go as far as possible. In any case, playing against Real Madrid is a great opportunity, but obviously we are not going to go to change shirts, we are going to try to win and be as competitive as possible. And we are going to see it because as this tournament is the first time that it is given, with a complicated transfer window and with a new format there will be many surprises. We are going to go all out.
What did Al Hilal think when they saw that they had to make their debut against Real Madrid? How did the fans experience it?R: I was in Miami at the draw, the last balls put us in that group or in the one with Manchester City and Juventus, and I thought: ‘They’re not going to send me to any more draws’. But falling into Real Madrid’s group felt very good. There is a very good memory of the final of the Club World Cup 2023 against Madrid in Morocco, where the team competed very well, and there is a great love for Real Madrid in Saudi Arabia, of the international clubs is clearly the most popular. The fans for Real Madrid are spectacular and here it is commented a lot on a day-to-day basis. Playing against Real Madrid is very exciting for us, people are very enthusiastic, it also falls on a good day and time, some other matches fall at a time that is complicated for Saudi Arabia. But we are looking forward to playing that match.
Is it an advantage that Real Madrid go into this match with a new coach, who is making his debut, who does not know the team and has hardly been able to train with the players, or are they on an equal footing because you are in the same situation?
No, I don’t think it’s an advantage because on the one hand we are in a similar situation, but look at the level of Real Madrid’s squad. With all those names, with the quality they have and with Mbappe, who has finished the season in spectacular form and has even continued to score with France in the Nations League… I don’t think we have any advantage. In the end, what they are not going to beat us in is enthusiasm, we are going to go all out. And then there are two more games and it will be useful for us to play against Madrid. I think we have a good chance of going through to the second phase and from there we’ll see, although the first thing is to play against Real Madrid and that the fans can see a good game. For us it is an opportunity to present ourselves to the world for people who do not know us.
People are excited about the game against Real Madrid and it’s a great opportunity, but we’re not going to go there to swap shirts with them, we’ll go all out
Do you think this new Club World Cup will become more established as the editions go by?
I think so, because the skepticism that existed six months ago was much greater than now, it was even threatened that the players would not want to participate because of the excessive workload. But then, as the prizes have been announced, as sponsors have joined, as FIFA has been promoting and as signings have been closed, the opinion has changed a lot. When the Nations League started it was a bit the same and now it is celebrated as one more title. This Club World Cup will be consolidated, no doubt, but it will need time, especially considering that it will be only every four years.
Do you consider this format of money distribution with fixed amounts depending on the potential or history of each team to be fair?
It’s clear that we would like it to be more democratic, but we have to be aware of which teams generate the biggest audiences and the opportunity cost for them, so it doesn’t matter if it’s fair or not. The argument used by the big clubs is that they are going to stop playing friendlies with which they made a lot of money. In Europe it may not be so well known, but the level of support we have in Saudi Arabia is very important, we are followed in many corners of the world, especially in Asia, and we are going to try to win as many games as possible to get through the rounds, which will give us more money. We have to accept this distribution, in any case we are not here for the money, but for what it means at a sporting level above all and also at a club promotion level.
Do you understand the criticism that the tournament has generated because of the dates with the overloaded calendar?R: Yes, of course I can understand that. But in Saudi Arabia we see it from a different perspective, because in the end for clubs from the rest of the world this tournament is a godsend. And whenever we have the opportunity to play with European teams in competitions it is an added value and an opportunity that we want to take advantage of. I can understand the criticism but we do not share it because from the beginning both we and our fans have been very excited about this tournament and we are delighted to play it.
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