On December 30, 2022, Saudi Arabian soccer club Al-Nassr announced that they had signed Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to an almost inconceivable two-and-a-half-year contract worth around $200 million. Despite the criticism he faced from journalists and fans alike for joining the Saudi Pro League, a largely unknown professional soccer league, Ronaldo’s transfer has been a harbinger of a vast migration of talented soccer players from the top European leagues to Saudi Arabia. 

Since his departure from Europe less than a year ago, Ronaldo has been followed by a myriad of other stars such as N’Golo Kante, Sadio Mane, recent Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, and, most recently, Neymar, Jr. All of these players made the decision to leave some of the most renowned and successful soccer clubs in Western Europe for Saudi Pro League clubs, and they have been rewarded with lucrative contracts; the highest of these salaries is a mind-boggling near $300 million a year for Neymar, Jr. 

These salaries have been the primary motivation for players emigrating from Europe, players who have largely left their primes and would rather receive tens of millions of dollars in Saudi Arabia than attempt one last dance in the Champions League. For these individuals their decision might seem logical, but what about for the Saudis? Despite the fact that the Saudi Pro League spent the second most last summer on transfers for a soccer league ($950 million), it was recently ranked as only the 36th best professional soccer league in the world. This information alone may make the Saudi spending habits look like a business nightmare, but in reality the near $1 billion the Saudis spent last summer is a shrewd investment – and the payoffs have little to do with soccer. 

Within the last decade, Saudi Arabia has begun a campaign to reshape its global image. It has invested billions of dollars into entertainment, sports, tourism, and real estate, largely in an attempt to make the Kingdom appear more appealing to foreigners, particularly those outside of the Arab world. Soccer is one of the ways in which Saudi Arabia is attempting to accomplish this goal. Through the Public Investment Fund (PIF), the Saudi government has a 75% stake in the top four Saudi Pro League clubs – Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, and Al Ahli – which is where almost all of the transfers end up. Unlike most other leagues, where clubs are managed by independent wealthy owners, the Saudi government has a direct impact on the success of their soccer league. By enlisting some of the most esteemed athletes in the world, Saudi Arabia is trying to convey the idea to the outside world – particularly to the West – that the country has a lot to offer to visitors. By 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to have 100 million annual tourists, opposed to the 17 million it had last year. 

The Saudi Pro League is not the only way in which the Saudis have sought to achieve their goals. In June, the Saudi-backed LIV golf league announced that it will merge with the PGA, the dominant American golf league. Outside of professional sports, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) announced in 2021 the construction of futuristic residential communities such as The Line, which seeks to redefine urban living and attract people from all over the world. On a smaller scale, the country has also lifted its ban on movie theaters and other forms of public entertainment. Saudi has long been home to billionaires and lavish palaces, but never in its history has it made such a concerted effort to put its vast wealth toward transforming itself into an entertainment hub. 

Some of these efforts have directly been part of The Crown Prince’s Vision 2030 plan to modernize the Saudi economy and to improve the country’s international profile, but some of them have also been used to cover up deplorable actions of the Saudi government in the last decade. The most recent of these was the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who heavily criticized MBS’s policies. These efforts also seek to address the 2015 Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war, an ongoing conflict that has been so disastrous that the U.S., Saudi Arabia’s most important military partner, has announced that it would end its support of the coalition’s offensive operations. In another sense, some of these efforts are still trying to combat the effects 9/11 had on Saudi Arabia’s global image. Despite not being responsible for the attack, the Saudi government has struggled for decades to reconcile with the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists affiliated with the 9/11 attacks came from Saudi Arabia. 

Saudi Arabia’s plan to reshape its image – whether through soccer or through other forms of entertainment – has been criticized by many who have accused the country of reckless overspending, forced labor, and sportswashing. However, the changes that are undergoing in the Kingdom also offer a new promise to millions of Saudis who have historically lacked access to basic forms of entertainment and freedom. Whether or not this investment is entirely ethical or will ultimately pay off for the Saudis remains to be seen, but it’s unlikely that Saudi Arabia will stop its campaign anytime soon.