Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has been spending large amounts of money in an efforts to whitewash his poor human rights record sullied following the journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s assassination.
Sources familiar with the matter affirmed that Saudi Arabia is among the top 10 countries that heavily spend on purchasing football players.
Saudi Arabia’s Roshen Football Club came in eighth place on the list of leagues spending the most on recruiting players over the past ten years, after its clubs spent about $1.7 billion to attract the most prominent international players in an effort to sportwash MBS’s bloody record.
In just one year, MBS spent 400 million riyals on failed contracts and the penalty clause due to his failure to manage player deals.
Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in buying a multibillion-dollar stake in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league, according to people familiar with the matter.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s advisers have spoken to Indian government officials about moving the IPL into a holding company valued at as much as $30 billion, the sources said.
The talks were held when the crown prince visited India in September, the report said, adding that the kingdom proposed investing as much as $5 billion into the league and help lead an expansion into other countries.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the custodian of the IPL, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for a comment.
IPL is one of the richest leagues in the world and has been attracting top players and coaches to India since its inaugural edition in 2008.
IPL already has a large bunch of sponsors, including Aramco and the Saudi tourism authority. IPL’s popularity is evident as bidders last year pumped in $6.2 billion for the right to telecast the tournaments, which comes to $15.1 million per match, which is more than the English Premier League and just behind US’ National Football League.
This reflects the momentous scale of Saudi Arabia’s investments in what they term “sportswashing,” the practice of investing or hosting sporting events in a bid to obscure the Kingdom’s poor human rights record, and tout itself as a new leading global venue for tourism and events.
Saudi Arabia’s sporting ventures in recent years have included the deal with the Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on a two-year contract. According to reports, Ronaldo will receive £172.9 million-a-year through 2025 as part of the deal.
However, this hugely expensive outlay has further damaged the Kingdom’s reputation and image.
