Cristiano Ronaldo was acquired by Al Nassr through a large fortune in his contract. The Portuguese signed for two years with the Arab team for more than $200 million dollars a year. But CR7 is not the first to link ties with this nation, since Lionel Messi had already gone ahead of him.
According to information compiled by Fútbol Total MX, Lionel Messi has been in a campaign with Saudi Arabia for some time. From May 2022 the Argentine soccer player would be part of the movement Vision 2030. The union of Lionel Messi with this cause would have been generated thanks to the signing of the Argentine by Paris Saint-Germain.
“The whole opening up of the sphere of entertainment and sports is a big part of Vision 2030. With the LIV Golf (financed by Saudi Arabia) and now with these types of sponsorships high level like Messithey are trying to take it to another level and make it more global. Saudi Arabia’s reputation globally needs fixing and it’s all about trying to rebrand the country”, explained Dennis Horak, former Canadian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, in a statement to The Athletic.
What is Vision 2030?
Lionel Messi’s link with the Arab nation, simplifying, It has to do with the promotion of the territory so that in 2030 a World Cup will be held. This business would go against the intentions of the Argentine to promote the headquarters of Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.
SAUDI ARABIA (Al Nassr) bought his own football star (he’s been heading in that direction for a while)
And now they say they are going to use him as an “ambassador” to search for the 2030 World Cup…Any similarity with QATAR, Emir Al Thani, PSG and Messi is not purely coincidental.
⚽👑 pic.twitter.com/pUiriRTUTJ— Mariano Beldyk (@MiBeldyk) January 4, 2023
The same source explains that the PSG footballer would receive €30 million euros ($31.8 million dollars), annually for “La Pulga” to promote the nation for the 2030 World Cup.
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