Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kanté and now Riyad Mahrez. The exodus, financed in the tens or even hundreds of millions of euros, of some big names in European football to Saudi Arabia is the heavy trend of the current transfer market. Riyad Mahrez, Algerian international who has just won the FA Cup-Premier League-Champions League treble with Manchester City, signed for Al-Ahli, a club from Jeddah, this Friday.
“The wait is over: Riyadh is here,” the Saudi club said on social media. Meanwhile, Manchester City have thanked their now 32-year-old for service. City and Al-Ahli have agreed on a transfer reportedly worth around £30m (€35m).
By managing to attract Riyad Mahrez, the oil-rich country is continuing its offensive on the transfer market, a sign of its desire, which has grown stronger over the years, to occupy a central place in the world of sport and to make a real tool at the service of its soft power. Criticized for human rights abuses, Saudi Arabia is trying, through football, to improve its image in the world, like its neighbors Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
With N’Golo Kanté and Karim Benzema
Riyad Mahrez, right winger and Algerian football star, took his national team, the Fennecs, to their second African Cup of Nations trophy in 2019. In addition to an ideal last season with Manchester City, the left-hander, not always a starter under the orders of Pep Guardiola, participated during his stay in the North West of England in three victorious campaigns in the league (2019, 2021 and 2022), another coronation in the FA Cup (2019) and three victories in the League Cup (2019, 2020 and 2021). In total, Riyad Mahrez has scored 78 goals and provided 59 assists in 236 games played in the sky blue jersey.
Before that, the native of Sarcelles (Val-d’Oise), a very technical player, had revealed himself during the unexpected title of Leicester in 2016 (17 goals, 10 assists). He had immediately left the club for City in exchange for nearly 70 million euros.
He will also find in the Saudi championship another player of this coronation: the French midfielder N’Golo Kanté, who will evolve next season at Al-Ittihad with another renowned Frenchman: Karim Benzema, Golden Ball 2022 .
In addition to the spectacular transfers finalized this summer, the Saudi monarchy plans to apply to organize the 2030 FIFA World Cup and future Olympic Games.
Saudi Arabia, a mostly desert country, will also host the 2027 Asian Men’s Football Cup, the 2034 Asian Games, and even the 2029 Asian Winter Games, the awarding of which, considered by some to be an aberration ecological, was greeted with amazement by the sporting world.
