The summer of 2008 was full of rumours: the goings-on for Cristiano to wear white began to sound loud; The Spanish National Team started for the first time as a favorite for the Eurocup in Austria and Switzerland at the hands of Luis Aragonés and his crazy short; Guardiola was going to take charge of Barcelona after having to make the corridor (and being thrashed 4-1) by league champion Madrid at the Bernabéu…
Barely three days after winning the 2007-08 League, the last time Real Madrid managed to retain the league title consecutively, and after having fulfilled diplomatic obligations towards the Community and the Madrid City Council, the white team opened a market in Saudi Arabia. On the occasion of a match tribute to Majed Abdullah, a Saudi football legend, the madridistas went to Riyadh to offer him a splendid retirement. It is not known if it was the long trip, the exhaustion from the celebrations that took place, but Al Nassr thrashed the whites 4-1… Tracing back an initial goal from Robben. Because playing, the good guys played: the agreement signed by the whites meant that the usual starting XI for the season would start. The price for that clause increased the Whites’ profits: they took two million clean euros for going to that game…
But now, 15 years later, and after winning their last two Spanish Super Cups on Saudi soil, Real Madrid has clashed squarely with the Arab country. Although there was already a first gesture improper: the whites were forced to have to modify their shield to be able to sell their merchandising in Arab lands. The reason was the cross that adorns the crown that covers the white shield and that in the Arab countries, with its majority Muslim population, was not well seen. The redesign required a slight change…
But the slightest friction has turned into a serious shock. Arabia, seeing that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, its neighbors to the East, have benefited in the world of football in recent times (the former organizing the last World Cup and the latter, lifting the Champions League hand in hand with Manchester City), have decided to bet on the king of sports. They have opted to hold the 2030 World Cup, but seeing that both the South American option (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the European-African option (Spain, Morocco and Portugal) already have a long way to go, added to the proximity of the World Cup in the lands of the Arabian peninsula, they have decided to postpone it to 2034.
To do this, it has embarked on a dynamic and entrepreneurial path: without haste but without pause. The first blow was given by signing Cristiano Ronaldo. The second, offering a contract to Karim Benzema, captain of Real Madrid and one of his greatest bastions in the last two seasons, where he was the top scorer and a key player in the conquest of the League and the Champions League in the 2021-22 season. After initially rejecting the Saudi offer, just under 72 hours passed for the French striker, and current Ballon d’Or, to decline the one-year renewal offer offered by the Whites and secure a three-season contract with a salary of 100 million each. In total 300 million… And Benzema flew to Jeddah.
A month and a half later, two other attempts have arrived: the first has been with Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian coach, who is linked to a future on the bench of the Brazilian team when his current contract with Real Madrid ends, has received a multi-million dollar offer to take over one of the benches of the emerging Saudi League, as published by AS. A proposal that was completely rejected by the Madrid coach and emphatically: it did not give rise to a possible counter offer. He is focused on his campaign with the white team.