A former Saudi sports minister has questioned the value of the kingdom’s vast football spending on foreign players, asserting that only Cristiano Ronaldo truly earns his high salary due to his global impact.
Abdullah bin Mosaad, who served as Sports Minister between 2014 and 2017, stated that most other top players arriving in the Saudi league receive “well over what they deserve.”
He credited Ronaldo with providing significant “exposure to the league and the country.” This makes Ronaldo the “only foreigner who deserves what he receives,” bin Mosaad said.
The comments were made during a presentation for the ‘Al-Arabiya’s Fi Al-Marama’ program.
Bin Mosaad also expressed concern over the current allowance of eight foreign players per team. He advocates for reducing this number.
He believes the present format relegates Saudi players to “secondary actors” within the sport.
“At the moment, it is the Saudi Arabia national team that is paying the price for the creation of a strong league,” bin Mosaad added.