Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr could be set for a sensational swoop for Zinedine Zidane to replace departed coach Rudi Garcia, sources familiar with the matter revealed.
The sources pointed out that the agreement was Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)’s choice as part of his increasing sportwash efforts.
The sources said that the three-time Champions League-winning French coach, one of the most successful managers in the world, would be in line to pocket almost $120 million for a two-year contract with the Riyadh giants.
Garcia was sacked last week following inconsistent performances and rumors of dressing room unrest at Al-Nassr, with some of the senior players, including Ronaldo, believed to be unhappy with the French coach’s methods.
Last week, the club tweeted: “Al Nassr can announce that Head Coach Rudi Garcia has left the club by mutual agreement.
“The board and everyone at Al Nassr would like to thank Rudi and his staff for their dedicated work during the past 8 months.”
Saudi Arabia is regularly criticised by human rights groups for its detention and torture of political opponents. The murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 also led to worldwide outrage.
However, human rights organisations have long accused Saudi Arabia of using sport to whitewash this poor human rights record.
MBS has spent billions of dollars on high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster his reputation.
Critics recently commented on superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s deal to join state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC, saying that the deal includes boosting the Crown Prince’s image.
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.
Saudi authorities have poured vast amounts of money into sporting ventures in reference to Messi and Ronaldo’s friendly match in the Kingdom.
The event was considered as another example of sportswashing – a phenomenon whereby corrupt or autocratic regimes invest in sport and sports events to whitewash their international reputation.
Peter Frankental, Amnesty UK’s economic affairs director, as saying that “Ronaldo’s big-money transfer to Al Nassr and Messi’s engagement by the Saudi authorities as a tourism ambassador are both part of Riyadh’s aggressive sportswashing programme, with the authorities seeking to exploit the celebrity appeal of elite sport to deflect attention from the country’s appalling human rights record.”
He added: “Footballers like Ronaldo and Messi have huge profiles and we’d like to see them resisting being used as the famous faces of sportswashing, including by speaking out about human rights issues in Saudi Arabia.”
Well-informed sources recently confirmed that Saudi Arabia bought the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., for $9 billion.
In 2018, the Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Sport Authority (GSA), Turki al-Sheikh, signed an exclusive 10-year contract with the WWE to hold wrestling competitions in the kingdom, propped up by billion-dollar TV deals.
Last January, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund launched the Savvy Gaming Group, which acquired top eSports firms ESL Gaming and FACEIT in deals reportedly worth a total of $1.5 billion.
Other media reports earlier revealed that the Riyadh-based Public Investment Fund acquired more than $3 billion worth of stock in three U.S. video-game makers during the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing. They include Activision Blizzard Inc., Electronic Arts Inc. and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.
