Connect with us

SAUDI PRO LEAGUE

REVELATION: Lionel Messi’s move to Saudi Arabia a ‘done deal’

blank

Published

on

Lionel Messi could follow in the footsteps of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo in moving to Saudi Arabia. PHOTO: AFP

Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi will play in Saudi Arabia next season under a “huge” deal, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP on Tuesday.

“Messi is a done deal. He will play in Saudi Arabia next season,” said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity and without naming the club.

“The contract is exceptional. It’s huge. We are just finalising some small details.”

Asked about the comments, Messi’s current club Paris Saint-Germain simply noted that the 35-year-old remains under contract until June 30.

But a separate PSG source said: “If the club had wanted to renew his contract, it would have been done earlier.”

Advertisement

The World Cup winner was suspended by Qatari-owned PSG last week for an unauthorised trip to Saudi, where he is a tourism ambassador.

He was seen with his family in what was reported to be a holiday trip in Riyadh.

The Argentinian has since apologised to the club and his teammates in a video posted on Instagram to his 458 million followers.

Messi’s expected arrival in the oil-rich kingdom follows in the footsteps of his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr in a massive deal in January.

Ronaldo’s agreement to June 2025 is said to total more than €400 million (S$582.4 million), making him the world’s highest paid athlete according to Forbes.

Advertisement

The news came a day after Messi was named the Laureus Sportsman of the Year during the awards ceremony in Paris, while sprint champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce bagged the top women’s honour.

Messi also received an award on behalf of the Argentina men’s football team, who were named World Team of the Year after their triumph at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had won the award once before, sharing it with British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton in 2020.

He also became the first athlete to scoop both the World Sportsman of the Year Award and the World Team of the Year Award in the same year.

Jamaican Fraser-Pryce enjoyed an outstanding 2022, which included winning the 100m gold at the World Athletics Championships.

Advertisement

Tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who won the 2022 US Open and rose to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, was named the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year.

Christian Eriksen, who recovered from the cardiac arrest he suffered at the European Championship in 2021 to return to Premier League football with Brentford and then Manchester United before competing at the World Cup with Denmark, received the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.

AFP/Reuters

Advertisement

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

SAUDI PRO LEAGUE

Peseiro set to return to Saudi Arabia for petro-dollar job

blank

Published

on

Know The Nigerian Coach Jose Peseiro -

Former Super Eagles’ coach, Jose Peseiro is on the line to coach Saudi Arabia Pro League first tier team, Al Riyadh.

Information from the oil rich country indicate that Peseiro who had previously coached the Saudi Arabia national team is one of the two being considered to replace Odair Hellmann at the Saudi club which placed 14th at the end of last season.

It is gathered that Peseiro has a competitor in Spanish cooach, Javier Pereira who is also lineup for the job.  

Peseiro had previously managed Al Hilal in 2006 and later coached the Saudi national team during their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Continue Reading

SAUDI PRO LEAGUE

Ronaldo breaks Saudi League’s single-season scoring record

blank

Published

on

blank
Saudi Pro League - Al Nassr v Al Ittihad - Al-Awwal Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 27, 2024 Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Stringer

Al Nasr’s Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday.

The Portuguese 39-year-old scored a brace in his side’s 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.

The previous record was held by former Al Nasr forward and Moroccan international Abderrazak Hamdallah, who scored 34 goals in 2018-19.

Ronaldo, who played for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus, joined Al Nasr in January 2023.

-Reuters

Advertisement

Continue Reading

SAUDI PRO LEAGUE

Ighalo’s former club, Al-Hilal secure Saudi League title

blank

Published

on

blank
Saudi Pro League - Al Hilal v Al Hazem - Prince Faisal Bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - May 11, 2024 Al Hilal fans display banners in the stands as the celebrate after winning the Saudi Pro League REUTERS/Stringer

Undefeated Al-Hilal won a record-extending 19th Saudi Pro League title on Saturday with a 4-1 victory over Al-Hazem to reclaim the trophy from Al-Ittihad who won it last season.

Jorge Jesus’ side hold a 12-point advantage over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in second with three matches remaining.

Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Al-Hilal the lead from the penalty spot after 15 minutes but Faiz Selemani netted the equaliser for Al-Hazem in the 34th minute.

However, Jesus’s side took the lead again with an own goal from Ahmed Al-Juwaid in the 39th minute.

Mitrovic scored again in first-half stoppage time and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic scored three minutes later to make it 4-1.

Advertisement

Al-Hilal are chasing the treble having clinched the Saudi Super Cup title in April, and having reached the Saudi King’s Cup final where they will play Al-Nassr.

-Reuters

Continue Reading

Most Viewed