Glamour friendlies, the possibility of another winter World Cup, world-class players arriving for hefty transfer fees: The Saudi Arabia football revolution could be here to stay.
Twelve months ago, the likes of Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante playing in the Saudi Pro League would have seemed far fetched. For the 2023-24 season it's a reality and more could follow.
The country has grand ambitions with Ronaldo saying at the end of his first season that he could see the Pro League being mentioned among the top five in the world. At the moment, competing with Europe - the home of the Champions League and the best talent - is an ambition rather than a reality but with the likes of Manchester City's Treble-winning pair Bernardo Silva and Riyaz Mahrez being linked with moves, there is no shortage of offers.
The money is available and spending it isn't a problem. So what's the plan and what happens next?
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"The long-term ambition comes under the government’s wider reaching Vision 2030 plan," explains Asian football expert and writer for The Asian Game, Martin Lowe, speaking to the Manchester Evening News. "This plan is spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), as a dynamic change for modern Saudi society, which will look to move away from their reliance on oil reserves, into a forward-looking Arab nation that will appeal to their younger, and growingly liberal demographic.
"Sport and leisure is one mere sector within 13 areas in the plan; but within the sport section, ambitions such as acquiring Newcastle United and reforming the domestic league were key road markers set out in advance. Earlier this month, MBS announced the privatisation of the league’s domestic clubs. The previous model meant all clubs were under the control of the state; however a push towards private business ownership is seen to be a more sustainable route forward."
That saw PiF, the Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and owners of Newcastle United, acquire the four biggest clubs, including champions Al-Ittihad and Ronaldo's Al-Nassr. "The initial plan is for the four key clubs to acquire three to four elite players, with at least one elite player at every other club for the upcoming season," adds Lowe.
Talent will clearly be heading across the continents from Europe to Asia. Saudi Arabia has a long footballing heritage with the national team regulars at World Cups and the leading club sides historically pulling in 20,000+ crowds.
Ronaldo's move raised the profile and the arrival of fellow world stars will do likewise this summer. The former Manchester United man sparked a rise in engagement, from spectators in the stadiums keen to see him play to external interest. The broadcasters switched to dual language TV graphics (Arabic and English) to open up overseas TV rights. Sky Sports starting showing Al-Nassr games live in the UK. And while this isn't a specific part of the overall government vision, it's an obvious welcome side effect.
Ronaldo certainly provided a spike, and the influx of stars, the arrival of European clubs to play friendlies, the Club World Cup in the country later this year and a potential World Cup in the future could see a consistent and maintained interest.
"I can definitely see it as a lucrative business for European teams to face Saudi Arabian sides during the off season," Lowe added. "The main trouble is the oppressive summer heat but we’ve already seen how they propose to get round this; either by inviting clubs in the European winter break as was saw with PSG versus Riyadh All-Stars earlier this year, or for Saudi clubs to travel to more moderate summer climates, as Al-Nassr will do this summer in travelling to Japan to face Inter.
"(A World Cup) is one of the key aims of the vision. Given the reaction around Qatar 2022 however, 2030 only remains an outside chance, especially if they must rope in some willing co-hosts.
"But by 2034 or 2038, it looks inevitable for the World Cup to head back to the Middle East. Saudi Arabia are due to host the Asian Cup for the first time in 2027 and have already put in a bid to host the Women’s Asian Cup in 2026.
"With the World Cup they can’t host during the summer – same climate difficulties as Qatar. This may again be their biggest difficulty in swaying FIFA members to vote for another winter tournament."
Seeing the biggest sporting event in the world in the country might seem unlikely in the immediate aftermath of Qatar, but seeing Ronaldo, Benzema and Co playing their club football in the country would have once been implausible. It's now a reality.
For a nation that shocked the footballing public when they beat Lionel Messi's Argentina at the World Cup, producing another seismic sporting shift will seem conceivable.
