BBC Sport looks into this summer's transfer trend of the Saudi Pro League signing players from European clubs - and linked with more.
was further evidence of a growing interest in using sport to project Saudi Arabia to a wider audience. A joint 2030 World Cup bid with Egypt and Greece is planned too.
"The league is well established, going since the 1970s, and clubs have a real fanbase who care about football which makes it authentic and not artificial," a senior league source told BBC Sport. "Although the league has a fair amount of foreign players, it's the big stars who get you worldwide TV coverage. As soon as Ronaldo came in, the league started to be shown in every major market. It gets that immediate attention.
"The Ronaldo transfer proved it can happen. It is one thing to say 'we are going to sign the best players in the world' but for someone of Ronaldo's status to actually come, live in Riyadh and play every game, was a surprise to people and showed we could get other people to come."For European football, the rise of the Saudi league presents a challenge.
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