Latest news with #FahadBinNafel
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
🤑 Al-Hilal hand out generous bonus after Saudi side make history in the US
🤑 Al-Hilal hand out generous bonus after Saudi side make history in the US There were several questions about the value that Al-Hilal would pay as a "bicho" to the athletes after the historic classification to the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup over Manchester City. It was up to journalist Ahmed Al-Qarni, who works for the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper and is a member of the Saudi Arabian Media Sports Federation, to reveal the value in question. Advertisement According to him, each athlete earned 2 million Saudi riyals, which is equivalent to R$ 2.9 million. The club itself released a video with the presence of president Fahad bin Nafel in the locker room of the Camping World Stadium. The material preserved the "mystery" about the value, as there is a cut before Fahad bin Nafel talks about the money in question. The sequence shows the arrival of coach Simone Inzaghi and several athletes going to hug the president after the "revelation" that was of great interest. The "bicho" in the context of football refers to the value paid to athletes and members of the technical committee after relevant victories or other important results. Advertisement Al-Hilal, with Brazilians Marcos Leonardo, Malcom, Renan Lodi, and Kaio César, will face Fluminense next Friday (4), starting at 4 pm (Brasília time) for a place in the semifinals. Whoever advances will guarantee a prize of $21 million from FIFA. Which is equivalent to 78.7 million Saudi riyals and R$ 114.4 million. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
‘Let's see if they criticise us now' – a landmark Saudi win and what it means for football
Marcos Leonardo ripped the corner flag from its roots and hoisted it straight above his head towards the black Orlando sky. For Al Hilal, for Saudi Arabian football, it was their Olympic torch. The flame that announced their long-sought arrival on the world stage. The moment their new money was dealt in at the top table of another sport, in a new tournament that has their country's fingerprints all over it. Advertisement Their dramatic 4-3 extra-time win over Manchester City in the last 16 of the Club World Cup on Monday was enough to turn keffiyehs into handkerchiefs. Inches away from FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Al Hilal president Fahad bin Nafel buried his head into his hands and sobbed. At full time, just shy of midnight local time, he stood in front of the tunnel and hugged every player and member of staff who helped the 2021 Asian Champions League winners defeat the most successful English football club of the last 15 years to seal a place in the quarter-finals against Brazilian side Fluminense. Few celebrations are as wildly chaotic as this, but it was fitting for a game that had witnessed Al Hilal at one point refusing to restart for over two minutes as they tried to force the referee to visit the VAR monitor. Once the dozens of players and staff had eventually disembarked from the pitch, Al Hilal's fans came sweeping through the concourse like a hurricane, chanting 'ole, ole, ole'. Some waved flags, some rode on shoulders and others rocked a Manchester United jersey with glee. One Saudi journalist was telling anyone who would listen that these 120 minutes were even better than his wedding day. His brother, on the phone from Riyadh to share the moment, said he would break his arm if he was there in person because he would hug him so tightly. It was a scene being repeated dozens of times with people dotted around on the grass outside the Camping World Stadium, shrieking with euphoria down the phone to their family and friends at home, sharing a moment few thought they would experience. This result — in what was the best game of the tournament so far — was well ahead of schedule. It is only two years since Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) took control of four Saudi Pro League clubs, including Al Hilal, and decided to aggressively pursue the best talent in the world. The Europeans who moved to Saudi Arabia have regularly been accused of placing cash before career, but Al Hilal, deprived of their two best players in Aleksandar Mitrovic and Salem Al Dawsari, blitzed past Manchester City on the counter-attack time and again. This was further proof that this is not like China's dabble in football the previous decade. It is not a collection of expensive individuals that has been assembled; it is a cohesive team with a clear aim to upend the European hegemony and establish the Saudi Pro League as a direct competitor. Advertisement 'Let's see now if they will criticise us after this game,' said midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, now 30, who joined two years ago from Lazio. 'We showed them it's not like they think. The league isn't how they speak about it. A lot of the perceptions (about Saudi) are untrue. I am running more there than I did in Serie A.' Is it a one-off game that does not tell us anything of substance, or is it another checkpoint in Saudi football's inevitable rise? If it legitimises the league in the eyes of enough peak-age players, then it will be the latter, but there are two prisms through which to view a triumph that could well come to mark a fundamental shifting of the sands. The simpler one is to appreciate the joy it brought to one of the best-supported teams at the tournament. Some Europeans may presume that there was no football culture in Saudi Arabia before the wave of investment, but it was a passionate football nation beforehand. 'I know Al Nassr have Cristiano Ronaldo, but we're the biggest club in Saudi Arabia — around 40 per cent of Saudis support us,' Al Hilal CEO, Esteve Calzada, told The Athletic before the famous win. 'Our games here have been huge news in Saudi Arabia. Everyone is watching. And thousands of our fans have come to the United States to watch us, as well as Saudis based here. There were about 15,000 fans at our game in Nashville (against Pachuca), and at least two-thirds of them were supporting Hilal. We think thousands of them have flown over to support us.' The Saudi embassy in the U.S. had been offering free tickets in the lead up to the game, and while Al Hilal usually help subsidise flights and accommodation for fans at games such as these, this tournament was an exception. It meant there was no official ultras group but a block of Al Hilal fans — all decked out in royal blue and waving flags the entire game — that somehow conquered an entire section. Other fans dotted around the lower tier walked around to join them in an attempt to make it more raucous, and a City fan even turned his jersey inside out and began singing along to new chants. Advertisement The more complicated puzzle to solve is what this could mean for the geopolitics and power dynamics of the game. FIFA president Infantino was quick to declare the result as the harbinger of an intercontinental battle. 'A new era of football has definitely started', he said on Instagram. His personal investment in this tournament succeeding is obvious, but the triangle of power that has driven the creation of this newly expanded tournament — FIFA, broadcaster DAZN and the Saudi state's public wealth fund PIF, whose acronym was plastered around the advertising boards all game — adds multiple layers. One of the features of Infantino's presidency has been courting U.S. and Saudi investment as he seeks to globalise the game and raise the sport's annual revenue to half a trillion dollars. These are the two nations where he sees the most investment opportunities and, as such, the U.S. played host while Saudi Arabia provided the financial means necessary to entice the European clubs into signing up to the new tournament. PIF invested a reported $1billion (£730m) in DAZN, which made the entire competition free-to-air, and in turn, FIFA offered a total prize pot of $1bn. This tournament provided Al Hilal with the global platform they have been waiting for. Two years ago, when the recruitment drive started and backroom staff were being poached from top clubs around Europe, the Club World Cup was one of the main topics of conversation. In April, FIFA visited Riyadh as part of the Club World Cup trophy tour. To the surprise of some present, Al Hilal were thinking about winning it. This breakthrough moment has been years in the making. In 2016, the state outlined its Saudi Vision 2030 — a project that aims to diversify the economy and cement its reputation as a tourist hub and the home of elite sport — and there is the 2034 Road to the World Cup they are building up to. They have since been awarded a permanent Formula One race track, become the de facto home of major boxing fights, established LIV Golf to rival the PGA Tour and, in tennis, created the Six Kings Slam while hosting the WTA finals too. These events tend to fall within Riyadh Season, a banner created in 2019 to help drive tourism, but football was a richer and more saturated market. They had to make a big splash, and that came in January 2023 when five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr. Six months later, the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Sport announced that PIF had taken control of four Saudi Pro League clubs — Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr. Over $1bn in transfer fees were paid, with big names such as Karim Benzema, Neymar and N'Golo Kante being lured by the riches on offer. Advertisement In the same year, they hosted the 2023 Club World Cup (Manchester City beat Fluminense 4-0 in the final), and have also hosted both the Italian and Spanish Super Cups. The biggest prize of all, however, came when they were awarded the 2034 World Cup after the FIFA Council decided to adopt a 'principle of confederation rotation' to ensure that all six confederations had a fair share. Qatar 2022 would have ruled out Saudi Arabia until 2042 but, as the 2030 edition is spread across three confederations, the Gulf state was able to present their bid unopposed. PIF own 75 per cent of the four Pro League clubs, with a 25 per cent stake belonging to Al Hilal Non Profit Foundation, which is owned by one of Saudi's richest men in Prince Al Waleed bin Talal. Other clubs are due to be brought into private ownership as they seek to strengthen the depth of the league. Saudi Arabia's quest for global power is inextricably linked to its investment in sport. It has been viewed as 'sportswashing' by groups such as Amnesty International, a way of using the association with glamorous, popular events as a deflection from negative actions and human rights abuses. In 2019, then-future (and now former) U.S. president Joe Biden said Saudi Arabia would be treated as a 'pariah' after Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist, was killed by agents of the Saudi government at the consulate in Istanbul in 2018. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity remains illegal, due to the country's interpretation of Sharia law, and can result in a prison sentence or even capital punishment. Despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's 2022 assertion that the death penalty had been eliminated except for murder cases as part of an attempt to modernise the country by 2030, Saudi Arabia executed 330 people in 2024 — the most in decades. Advertisement In its evaluation report, FIFA only graded the country's human rights as a medium risk. Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International's head of labour rights and sport, called that report an 'astonishing whitewash of the country's atrocious human rights record.' After the victory over City, The Athletic asked Al Hilal supporters if they accept the view of many critics that the country's massive spending on football is an attempt to improve the public image of their country. 'It's just an investment,' says Abdulaziz, who has travelled from Riyadh to follow the team for the duration of their stay. 'We can sell it the next day, so it's not washing. Any country has the right to invest abroad. It is considered soft power for the country, and all countries have done it before, but when Saudi do it some people have double standards. 'When people in the UK saw Newcastle win after so many years, they realised it is good for the region. Finally the Middle East is on the map for good news instead of bad news. People are enjoying watching us.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Key Update On Lionel Messi To Al Hilal Reports Amid New Inter Miami Contract
Key Update On Lionel Messi To Al Hilal Reports Amid New Inter Miami Contract originally appeared on Athlon Sports. With Lionel Messi yet to sign a contract extension with Inter Miami, rumors of Saudi Arabia's interest in bringing the Argentine star increased. Messi's contract with Inter Miami expires at the end of the 2025 MLS season (Late December). Advertisement The Inter Miami star is currently focused on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, but after the tournament, questions about his future will be answered. Reports of Al Hilal interested in signing Messi for next season continued to grow as no clear sign of Inter Miami close to renewing his contract has been reported. New reports from Saudi Arabia suggested that Al Hilal held talks with Messi and his father on a potential transfer this summer. The report included details such as the Al Hilal president, Fahad bin Nafel, reportedly arriving in the U.S. to discuss with Messi's father and his team about having the Inter Miami star join Al Hilal this summer. Advertisement Reliable journalist Guillem Balague debunked the rumors of Al Hilal talking with Messi and gave insight into the reports. Lionel Messi set to stay at Inter Miami Guillem Balague reposted a report on the Al Hilal president meeting Messi's team on his X account and mentioned that it was 'fake news.' While calling the report false, he also gives a quick insight into Messi's contract renewal situation. Guillem Balague: "Not true at all that Al Hilal has met or is about to meet Messi's dad. Inter Miami and Leo [Messi] are still in ongoing discussions aimed at renewing his contract; this is the truth so far." Messi's chances to stay at Inter Miami for another year are high, which also means his chances to play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Argentina are also increasing. The Athletic reported that there are advanced negotiations between Messi and Inter Miami for a contract extension. Advertisement Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas has expressed his desire to see Messi play at Inter Miami's new stadium, Freedom Park, which is set to open in Spring 2026. What's Next for Inter Miami and Messi? Lionel Messi and Inter Miami set their sights on the club's biggest challenge to date. The MLS team will take on current Champions League winners PSG in the Round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup. The game between the two teams will be played on Sunday at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Inter Miami has learned its potential path to the final in case they defeat PSG in the Round of 16. If Inter Miami advances to the quarterfinals, their opponents will be between Flamengo and Bayern Munich. If they reach the semifinals, their potential opponents will be among Real Madrid, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund, and Monterrey. Related: Lionel Messi's Inter Miami Earns Staggering Amount With Club World Cup Knockout Berth Related: Lionel Messi to Break 1100 Game Streak as Club World Cup Finally Ignites This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
