When Shanghai Port paid almost $100 million to sign Oscar from Chelsea in 2016, the London club's coach Antonio Conte expressed concern over the rise of the Chinese Super League.
Now Oscar is one of the few big names left in the Chinese Super League, with Saudi Arabia surpassing it as the Asian competition attracting the ire of football figures in Europe.
Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal beat off competition from European clubs earlier this month to sign Brazilian playmaker Matheus Pereira from West Bromwich Albion.
English football broadcaster Noel Whelan was not impressed, telling Football Insider. “From a football side of things, you’re taking yourself out of the spotlight, but you’re gaining financially … you’re certainly not showcasing yourself as you would do in Europe.”
The social media reaction was similar to when players were leaving Europe for China five years ago, although the amounts paid by Saudi clubs have not matched the peaks hit by Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. China was the world’s highest spending league in the 2017 winter transfer window, splashing out around $457 million.
A combination of tougher government regulations, including a so-called transfer tax that aimed to reduce spending, and China's Covid-19 pandemic restrictions have changed the domestic football landscape. A number of Brazilians have had to quit Chinese clubs, with former Barcelona midfielder Paulinho and Talisca headed to Saudi Arabia.
“It was an honour to play for a big club like Guangzhou in China but I'm very happy to be in Saudi Arabia,” Talisca said after joining Al Nassr. “There are a lot of great players coming here and the league has a lot of potential to grow. It's an exciting time to be here.”
Saudi Arabia has long had ambitions to become Asia’s leading league. In 2018, Turki Al-Asheikh, then chairman of the government-run General Sports Authority, said the target was for the Saudi league to become one of the top leagues in the world by 2020.
The global pandemic has affected the goals but the country has some advantages over China in terms of attracting players.
“Saudi Arabian football is more established at the club level … and also at international level,” Simon Chadwick, Professor of Eurasian Sport at Emlyon Business School, told The Associated Press. “There is a passionate intensity for the sport which makes it a legitimate destination for players from around the world.”
Saudi Arabia has five World Cup appearances and three Asian titles compared with China’s one trip to the game's global showpiece.
Pereira replaces former Italian international Sebastian Giovinco at Al Hilal, an Asian powerhouse with three continental championships. He joins former French international striker Bafetimbi Gomis, top scorer last season, Peruvian winger Andre Carrillo and new signing Moussa Marega from Porto.
Riyadh rival Al Nassr signed Argentina’s Pity Martinez in 2020 for $18m and before the new season added Cameroon international Vincent Aboubakar from Porto and Argentina’s Ramiro Funes Mori from Villarreal.
There's been a similar pattern with coaches. In recent years some of the best in the world headed to China, including former World Cup winners Marcello Lippi and Luiz Felipe Scolari as well as Fabio Capello, Felix Magath, Sven-Goran Eriksson and Manuel Pellegrini.
There's been a drift west in recent seasons. Leonardo Jardim, who led Monaco to the 2017 French title, and former Brazil manager Mano Menezes are working with Saudi clubs this season.
There are issues to resolve, though, with some clubs relying on wealthy donors and state support.
In 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman intervened with $340m to cover debts owed by Saudi Professional League clubs. The real test, according to Chadwick, will be long-term sustainability.
“There have been several state bailouts but there is a desire to float the clubs and expose them to the pressures of the marketplace, to force them to become more financially disciplined and commercially orientated,” Chadwick said. “There is an optimism and a buoyancy around Saudi Arabian football that is not without foundation.”
Saudi Arabia is growing its off-field influence, too, developing close links with Fifa's leadership. There's been speculation about a potential World Cup bid in 2030, and the Saudi football federation made headlines recently when it called for a study into hosting the World Cup every two years.
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Fernando Jara (jockey), Irfan Ellahi (trainer).
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,400m
Winner: Yaalail, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Fernando Jara, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
Winner: Ezz Al Rawasi, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.
Avengers: Endgame
Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin
4/5 stars
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
RESULTS
5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Voices: How A Great Singer Can Change Your Life
Nick Coleman
Jonathan Cape
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
INFO
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Other must-tries
Tomato and walnut salad
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
