The Elephant in the Room: Saudi Clubs Fail to Impress on the International Scene

It is no secret that Saudi Arabia has big ambitions on the football scene. Their intentions are clear with the multiple moves made by Saudi Clubs, who look to purchase players nearing the end of their careers. But despite the large investment, this could prove to be insufficient if the Saudis want to become a major player on the international scene.

By now, it has become clear that Saudi Arabia has shocked the football world. Multiple important European players landed in Saudi lands as the country continues to invest in sports. Important names include Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., N’Golo Kanté, and Aleksandar Mitrović. While all of these include players who are slowly coming to their retirement, the young Gabriel Veiga also transferred to Saudi Arabia. Besides him were other obvious targets—Karim Benzema and Jordan Henderson.

But if there is one thing this social experiment has shown, is that money itself does not guarantee glory. Until Saudi clubs become major world actors, they will need to invest more – not only in terms of money but also in terms of player development, as well as creating a new local culture. Jordan Henderson, a player Saudi Arabia counted on as an ambassador, decided to pack his bags after only six months, leaving for Ajax. Karim Benzema did not leave but was rumoured to – some stars are just not able to adapt. These are problems no amount of paychecks can solve. Instead, the Saudis will need to invest in the adaptation of stars and towards a new methodology.

One could say the case of Jordan Henderson is isolated. However, Saudi teams are not performing to the expected level on the international scene. Robert Mancini’s National team crashed in the AFC Cup (Last 16, against South Korea). The clubs are not doing much better, with Al-Attihad already out despite hosting the tournament. Al-Hilal, the team that has invested the most, has dominated at home but still struggles to come up with diversity in terms of strategy in international competitions – with the result that there are no Saudi teams left on the international level.