Eurasia Review website commented on superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s deal to join state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC, saying that the deal includes boosting Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS)’ image.
One-upmanship in Middle Eastern sports just wretched up a notch as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joins state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC for reportedly a whopping US$241 million over 2.5 years, the website said.
According to the website, Ronaldo’s move is about more than distracting from Saudi Arabia’s abominable human rights record. Human rights are just one of the kingdom’s reputational problems, even if they are what attracts the most attention.
In a bid to take Saudi Arabia into the 21st century, diversify its economy, cater to the aspirations of a young population, and create building blocks for the survival of his regime, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has introduced significant social and economic reforms while tightening the political leash.
Ronaldo contributes to that, even if he, at 37, is near the end of his playing career. Sports, particularly soccer, the most popular form of entertainment, is a pillar of Mr. Bin Salman’s Vision 2030 plan.
For its part, Sanad Rights Foundation linked Ronaldo’s deal to MBS’s attempts to cover up the Kingdom’s poor human rights record.
MBS’s regime sought to draw the international attention to such deals away of the kingdom’s poor human rights record, Sanad said.
To achieve his goal, MBS needs to project Saudi Arabia as a modern, internationally competitive nation with a national rather than a religious identity.
Boosted by Ronaldo’s stardom, soccer, a sport that evokes tribal-like loyalties and nationalist passions, is a perfect tool to accomplish that.
MBS Attempts to Sportwash Poor Record
Human rights organisations have long accused Saudi Arabia of using sport to whitewash its poor human rights record.
MBS has spent at least $1.5bn on high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster its reputation, a Grant Liberty report revealed in 2021.
For its part, the Economist affirmed that Saudi Arabia is using sports to buy a new reputation. However, throwing billions at a breakaway golf tour will not polish the kingdom’s image, the paper added.
For all the changes in Saudi Arabia over the past seven years, the kingdom is stuck on its old strategy of trying to buy its way out of a shoddy reputation, it added.
The BBC also said public spectacles and sporting events are part of the Saudi government’s well-funded efforts to whitewash its image despite a significant increase in repression over the last few years.
Along the same line, The Guardian charged that “the brutal regime has got sportswashing down to a tee, and the west is more than willing to be its caddie.”
Sportswashing, a key element, is about glossing over and diverting attention from the regime’s ongoing human rights abuses, mistreatment of women, intolerance of political dissent and brutal penal system. In March, 81 people, many from the much-persecuted Shia Muslim minority, died in a mass execution, The Guardian added.
Social media activists also slam MBS’ failed attempts to sportwash his human rights violations at home and abroad, despite spending billions of dollars in international sporting events.
