Think of everything you know about Major League Soccer, and then think how much different that would be if David Beckham had not signed for LA Galaxy back in 2007.
As much celebrity as he was footballer, Beckham’s arrival in Hollywood transformed the image of America’s domestic league almost overnight. LA Galaxy experienced a stratospheric rise in global prominence, transforming themselves from a fledgling club in a fledgling league to global phenomenon on the back of the man in the iconic No.23 jersey.
Where Beckham led, others followed. At LA Galaxy alone, a metaphorical galaxy of stars have passed through in the ensuing years – Robbie Keane, Steven Gerard and Zlatan Ibrahimovic among them – while the rest of the league also experienced an influx as international superstars such as Thierry Henry, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo moved Stateside to conclude their careers.
As for the league itself, when Beckham arrived it contained a modest 13 clubs spread across two divisions. In the 16 years since that game-changing signing, a further 16 teams have been added to a league that now contains 29 teams and has ambitions for even further growth.
It’s safe to conclude that without Beckham’s arrival, the trajectory of growth in MLS would not have been the same. It owes its modern success to Beckham’s arrival.
In terms of celebrity footballers, however, Cristiano Ronaldo far outstrips the former England international. In the age of social media he is the very definition of a celebrity footballer. He is the very definition of celebrity, full stop.
He is, by some margin, the most followed person on Instagram in the world. His 544 million followers put him comfortably ahead of Lionel Messi, who comes in second on the list, and his 427 million followers. David Beckham has 77.4 million.
That is what the Saudi Pro League now has at its disposal as it looks to build and create its own domestic league, with lofty ambitions of being one of the world’s best within the next decade.
“(This) marks the beginning of a new era for football in the Kingdom,” a Saudi Pro League spokesperson told The Asian Game.
“This marks a unique opportunity for Saudi football. The worldwide interest which his signing has attracted sent a positive signal about the league, not just to fans and football supporters around the world but to global talent looking to follow the same path to realise their dreams.”
While Beckham moved to LA, the home of Hollywood and international glitz and glamour, Ronaldo’s arrival in Riyadh was no less glamorous, even if the city itself doesn’t carry the same reputation.
There were private jets, tailored suits and a welcoming ceremony befitting one of the game’s best players.
International reporters in their dozens descended on the Saudi capital for his unveiling, and latterly his debut matches and, like Beckham in LA, his iconic No.7 Al Nassr jersey has sold out time and again from the official club store, although Al Nassr declined to comment on the exact number of jerseys that had been sold.
Meanwhile, the club’s social media following ballooned to unprecedented levels. Prior to Ronaldo’s signing they had approximately 800,000 followers on Instagram, which is still a significant number and a sign of their popularity within Saudi Arabia.
Within days, however, that figured had multiplied multiple times over and at last count before publishing stood at 12.8 million – a staggering 1500% increase in a little over a month.
Google Trends, meanwhile, show that multiple times over the past month the term ‘Al-Nassr’ has peaked with the highest trend score possible reflecting the amount of interest there has been worldwide.
Speaking on The Asian Game Podcast last month, Middle East football expert Wael Jabir, spoke about the impact of Ronaldo’s arrival.
“You mentioned Instagram followers, and obviously when you sign the most followed man on Instagram, this was always bound to happen,” he explained.
“(A) huge jump for Al Nassr who have overtaken all the giants of Arab football on Instagram, of course overtaking their rivals out Al Hilal, they’ve overtaken Al Ahly of Egypt and they went straight to the top of Arab clubs on Instagram, competing with some of the most followed clubs across the world. I would say that was the start of the Ronaldo impact at Al Nassr.
“I imagine there will be a lot more happening, a lot more coming up for Al Nassr, for the league and for the nation as a whole. I’ve been speaking to quite a few people involved in the marketing and the social media side of things at the club and at the Saudi Pro League and there is a lot that’s that’s still in the plans.
“I think we’ll continue to see that growth on Instagram, and right now it’s up to Al Nassr how they leverage this, they need to put the effort in, of course, in terms of creating the right type of content in terms of creating multilingual content.
“We’ve seen the League have broadcast Al Nassr’s first game, even without Ronaldo playing, with English and Portuguese commentary for the first time ever, so that just tells you how big of a deal this is.”
The SPL, to their credit, has acted fast to try to capitalise on the interest surrounding Ronaldo’s arrival, appointing IMG to handle the distribution of international TV rights.
The result, an SPL spokesperson told The Asian Game, is the sale of rights to 35 platforms/channels around the world, reaching 127 countries with output including Arabic, English, German, French, and Portuguese commentary.
“The main aim for the league is the maximum exposure showing the quality of our league,” the spokesperson said.
“The league is already undergoing a major transformation to overhaul its governance, attract world class talent, reach new audiences, and enhance commercial opportunities, all while enabling its member clubs to collectively build and grow on and off the pitch.
“SPL’s development plans also require a focus on youth development and infrastructure improvements to enable their ambition of becoming one of the world’s leading leagues and to provide global fans with new ways to engage with SPL and Saudi football.”
While the league is already home to a large collection of top end talent – with the likes of Éver Banega, Odion Ighalo and Luiz Gustavo to name just a few – the question on everyone’s lips is whether, like we saw in MLS and more recently in China, Ronaldo will be a catalyst for even more high profile players to make the switch.
Despite denials, rumours persist linking Lionel Messi with a move to Al Hilal, and while we may not see the recent World Cup winner gracing the Saudi Pro League with his presence, with the transfer ban officially over you can safely bet that Al Hilal, and maybe even Al Ittihad, will be looking to make their own headline-grabbing signing come the off-season transfer window.
Speaking on Saudi television this week, Saudi Arabian Football Federation president Yasser Al-Misehal, hinted that more was to come.
“(Ronaldo) is a great addition to Saudi football,” he said. “I think it will be followed…by bigger deals in the coming summer period.”
Journalist John McAuley, from The National UAE, who was in Riyadh for Ronaldo’s unveiling and opening game, also thinks Ronaldo’s signing is just the beginning.
“I think we will do to be honest,” he told The Asian Game Podcast recently when asked if he expected more players to follow in Ronaldo’s footsteps.
“Just because there’s more eyeballs on this league, but the fact that Ronaldo has gone there of all people, that kind of legitimises the league over in Saudi and that will open a lot of players eyes to what they can earn to see out their careers and if Ronaldo is there, it’s another kind of pull factor; you can either go and be teammates with him or a rival of one of the big clubs or one of the other clubs in the league.
“And so the fact that Ronaldo has gone there, I would say it’s opened a lot of players minds to going over. If you’ve got the most recognisable footballer or one of the two most recognizable footballers in the world in that league, then, of course, other players would think well, why don’t we go over there and give it a go as well.”
Kresimir Rezic, the Croatian coach of Damac Club, who sit mid-table in the Saudi Pro League, has worked in Saudi Arabia for the best part of the last six years, including working at Al Nassr with their youth teams.
He, too, thinks this is just the beginning.
“I think this will improve our league for sure because this is not the end story, this is just the beginning,” he said.
“Doors are open and now we will see what will happen. I think that first of all Al Hilal and other big clubs will make response on this and it will be interesting, for sure, this transfer window and the future one in the summer.”
Damac host Al Nassr later this month, and Rezic said already there is excitement in the squad ahead of that game where he expects a capacity crowd to turn out to catch a glimpse of the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus superstar.
“Even in my team, we spoke about that there will be lots of lights and eyes on the league, and Al Nassr and Ronaldo,” the 41-year-old said.
“But this is good for all of us, because the value of the league will increase for sure with him (here). We mentioned already the date (of the game) between the players, we were joking like 25th of February and who will mark him, so we just made a couple of jokes about it.
“It’s always a full stadium against Al Nassr, (they) have a big base of supporters all over the country. With Christiano for sure it will be increased, but the stadium will be full and there will be lots of interesting duels and interesting tactical approach from both sides.
“So I think it’ll be like a very interesting game, but we will prepare it for the game like for any other game.”
Ronaldo’s signing comes on the back of Saudi Arabia’s impressive showing in Qatar and their stirring win over eventual champions Argentina at the now iconic Lusail Stadium.
That win, and the manner in which it was achieved, sent shockwaves around the world and opened the eyes of many to the potential contained within Saudi Arabia.
With the squad consisting entirely of players from the Saudi Pro League the result was an inadvertent boost for the domestic league as well, highlighting the growing strength of football within the country.
“His signing is huge and adds enormous value to Saudi football in its entirety,” SAFF president, and newly elected FIFA Council member, Yasser Al-Misehal told The Asian Game.
“He will help inspire a generation of Saudi children who can aspire to be just like him and will now get the opportunity to witness first hand his professionalism that has helped make him one of the biggest stars in the history of the game.
“Further, this will continue our efforts to grow our clubs and the Rohsn Pro League, which is already ranked as one of the very best within the Asian Football Confederation.
“Saudi Arabia has always attracted an array of high profile and talented players from across the world, and we think this signing can be a catalyst for our clubs to attract players of the same caliber in the future.
“The signing of Cristiano Ronaldo also aligns with our country’s Vision 2030 to develop all aspects of Saudi Arabian society, with sport, and in particular football, playing a big role in that vision thanks to the continued and ongoing support of the Government and the Ministry of Sport, who have shown a great willingness to invest in the future of Saudi football at all levels of the sport.”
Fifteen years on from Beckham’s arrival, MLS is almost unrecognisable to the league the former Manchester United star entered in 2007.
How the Saudi Pro League is changed by a different former Manchester United star is now the question on everyone’s lips.
Photo: Al Nassr FC
Listen to The Asian Game Podcast as we discuss Al Nassr’s signing of Cristiano Ronaldo
