The world is seeing the most important shift in European soccer. Before Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia, he first had to face the sword of Europe. After getting rejected by quite a few clubs, Ronaldo decided to move to Saudi for a different challenge. The aggressive approach by the Middle East may have slightly impressed one of Bayern Munich’s legends, who went on to confess its threats.
The recent spending by the Saudi League was estimated to be the second highest after the Premier League. The idea from Saudi Arabia turned out to be a masterclass. Expected or not, European players and experts are viewing the result of the mass transfers as a heads-up for the sport on the continent.
Former legendary goalkeeper calls Saudi’s investment good but dangerous
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A former Bayern Munich and Germany goalkeeper recently visited Saudi Arabia and got to see their infrastructure. After going back to Europe, Oliver Kahn had the view that the Asian country had the potential to hijack some of the best from Europe.
Kahn said, “For the European clubs, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the clubs benefit from the high transfer income, which they can reinvest.” “However, if younger players decide to play in the SPL, it will be dangerous for the European leagues and their clubs. That’s why developments in Saudi Arabia are being watched like a hawk.”
🎙️ Oliver Kahn im Interview über…
…die Kritik an seinem jüngsten Besuch in Saudi-Arabien: "Die Reaktionen in den sozialen Medien waren erwartbar. Ich bin grundsätzlich ein Freund davon, sich die Gegebenheiten selbst vor Ort genau anzuschauen, bevor man sich eine Meinung… pic.twitter.com/DTfib1laCp
— Philipp Kessler (@kessler_philipp) October 11, 2023
Kahn felt that Europe was not entirely under threat of losing the sport’s first choice of destination. However, he felt that if the younger players were lured, then it would definitely be an alarm for the continent. Kahn mentioned that the infrastructure and fan experience in the Gulf nation need little improvement.
He also said that even Europe can learn a lot to improve player training and management performances. However, Kahn feels that Saudi Arabia is a “new player” on the battlefield but will come up slowly because they have to sustain the clubs for a longer time.
Kahn denied Ronaldo’s signing last year
We can attribute the main reason for Ronaldo’s coming to Saudi to Erik Ten Hag’s conflict with Cristiano. Maybe Oliver Kahn can also be a minor contributor to Ronaldo not getting into Bayern. Kahn said that Cristiano was not in alignment with the club’s interests.
Khan said, “We discussed Cristiano Ronaldo. Internally, I consider him one of the greatest footballers ever.” “Then we came to the conclusion that, despite appreciation for Cristiano, he would not fit into our philosophy in the current situation.” Finally, after not finding his choice of club, Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr.
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Bayern director Kahn tells Bild: “We discussed about Cristiano Ronaldo internally – I consider him one of greatest footballers ever” 🚨 #FCBayern
“Then we came to conclusion that, despite appreciation for Cristiano, he would not fit into our philosophy in the current situation”. pic.twitter.com/JuBTUdUnsS
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 26, 2022
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We can clearly see the overall picture from Saudi Arabia. The clubs from the country have approached players and managers. With the sport growing in different directions, the efforts of Europe not to lose its limelight will be on.
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