UEFA chief Aleksander Ceferin has hit out on the Saudi Pro League, saying high gamers like Paris Saint-Germain ahead Kylian Mbappe and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland don’t dream of enjoying in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking with French publication L’Equipe, Ceferin mentioned he doesn’t see the Saudi Pro League as a risk, evaluating them to the Chinese Super League. The SPL has introduced a number of high European gamers, together with the likes of Neymar, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante.
“It’s not a threat, we saw a similar approach in China. They bought players at the end of their careers by offering them a lot of money. Chinese football didn’t develop and didn’t qualify for the World Cup afterwards,” mentioned Ceferin.
He went on to say that the gamers transferring to Saudi Arabia are on the finish of their profession or aren’t bold sufficient to play within the high competitions.
“That’s not the right way to do it. They should work on player and coach development, but that’s not my problem. There are players at the end of their careers and others who aren’t ambitious enough to aspire to the top competitions,” Ceferin added.
Ceferin mentioned so far as he is aware of, Mbappe and Haaland don’t dream of enjoying in Saudi Arabia. The SPL has seen an inflow of top-pedigree expertise following the transfer of five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo to Al-Nassr final season.
“As far as I know, Mbappe and [Erling] Haaland don’t dream of Saudi Arabia. I don’t believe that the best players at the pinnacle of their careers would go to Saudi Arabia,” mentioned Ceferin.
Speaking about the potential for SPL golf equipment enjoying in European competitions just like the UEFA Champions League, Ceferin insisted that solely European golf equipment can play within the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.
“Only European clubs can participate in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League. Only European federations can apply [to host] a final, not even clubs. We would have to change all our rules, and we don’t want that,” mentioned Ceferin.
Currently, Al-Ettihad, managed by former Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard, is main the Saudi Pro League, with 4 wins within the opening 4 matches of the season.
Edited By:
Rounaq Sehrawat
Published On:
Aug 31, 2023
