With Saudi Arabian clubs offering ludicrous deals and managing to attract star players, global attention is diverting from European leagues.
Saudi pro league club Al-Hilal made French club Paris Saint Germain an offer of a mind-blowing €300 million for its talismanic forward Kylian Mbappe last week. Though the move is highly unlikely, with reports suggesting that Mbappe has refused to negotiate, it could have been the most expensive in the game’s history, surpassing the €222 million PSG paid to FC Barcelona for Neymar Jr. While Mbappe’s future remains uncertain, the offer is a strong statement from the Saudi club and the Saudi league: they intend to challenge European supremacy over club football.
Europe is seen as the undisputed ruler of club football, be it popularity, telecast figures or economics. The UEFA Champions League was, and is, considered to be the most prestigious trophy a football club could win. While European national teams don’t hold a clear superiority, it remains an unwritten rule that players from other continents have to prove themselves in Europe to gain stardom.
