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Saudi Soccer Spending Not Slowing Down, U.K. Broadcast Deal Expected

Aug 4, 2023

Saudi Arabia has already lured European stars Cristiano Ronaldo, Jordan Henderson, and Karim Benzema, and has no plans to slow down its spending spree to turn the Saudi Pro League into a premier soccer destination.

“I think the budgets are in place for a number of years, I don’t see this slowing down,” Saudi Pro League board member Peter Hutton told the BBC. “I’ve worked in sport for 40 years and I’ve never seen a project as big, as ambitious and as determined to be a success.”

Hutton was previously the Head of Sports at Meta (formerly Facebook) and CEO of Eurosport, and held other executive roles at ESPN and IMG. Since the sports media veteran joined the Saudi Pro League in January, the league has made unsuccessful record-breaking offers for global stars Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe — posing a threat to even the highest-spending European leagues.

Source: Front Office Sports

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