{"id":105601,"date":"2026-02-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/02\/05\/ronaldos-dissent-highlights-uneven-spending-in-the-spl\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T00:00:00","slug":"ronaldos-dissent-highlights-uneven-spending-in-the-spl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enterpriseam.com\/ksa\/2026\/02\/05\/ronaldos-dissent-highlights-uneven-spending-in-the-spl\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronaldo\u2019s dissent highlights uneven spending in the SPL"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/strong>It\u2019s hard to think Ronaldo would ever be upset with Al Nassr<\/strong>, given the GBP 488k a day he reportedly makes just from his base salary, under the mega contract he signed in June last year that made him football\u2019s first b\u2019naire ever. And yet, Ronaldo was not named for the lineup against Al Riyadh last Monday, and is said to be sitting out the next game against Al Ittihad on Friday too<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the deal? <\/strong>Circulating reports claim the Portuguese legend, who turns 41 today, is dissatisfied with what he perceives as the PIF favoring Al Hilal in transfer spending. Uneven financial backing from the sovereign fund has seen some clubs strengthen their lineups while others falter as he sees it.<\/p>\n

The claim is not without merit: <\/strong>The latest transfer window \u2014 which officially closed on Monday \u2014 was absent any major additions to aid Ronaldo in the field, while other PIF-owned clubs went more aggressive in their spending.<\/p>\n

And then the Karim Benzema move came in<\/strong>. The former Ballon D\u2019Or winner left Al Ittihad and donned the blue shirt under an 18-month contract this week. Benzema joins heavy hitters such as Neves, Nunez, and Bounou, arguably giving the current league leader the strongest lineup in the SPL. That\u2019s not good news for Ronaldo, who is yet to win a league title since he joined Al Nassr in 2022. <\/p>\n

Governance issues seem to be at play, too<\/strong>. Sources told ESPN the Public Investment Fund suspended sporting director Sim\u00e3o Coutinho and CEO Jos\u00e9 Semedo back in June, effectively freezing major capital deployment. <\/p>\n

Al Hilal, on the other hand, appears to have strong private capital backing its signings<\/strong>, with its six transfers during the latest window \u2014 Benzema included \u2014 reportedly funded by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. The b\u2019naire prince has vested interests in Al Hilal as he\u2019s part of the non-profit that owns 25% of the club, and is said to be in negotiations<\/a> to take the remaining 75% off the PIF\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

The long history and strong fundamentals give Al Hilal an edge in attracting private capital<\/strong>. The club reported<\/a> total revenues of USD 340 mn (SAR 1.27 bn) for the 2024-2025 season, the highest figure ever for a Saudi sports organization. Sponsorship and partnership revenues went up by 16.5% compared to the previous season following the club\u2019s stunning victory against Manchester City in the Fifa Club World Cup.<\/p>\n

Al Nassr\u2019s earnings are not out yet<\/strong>, but estimates<\/a> put the club\u2019s revenues at USD 110 mn \u2014 roughly a third of Al Hilal\u2019s figure. The revenue gap could help explain why Al Hilal has been able to pursue more aggressive signings and maintain a higher commercial profile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The latest transfer window was absent any major additions to Al Nassr\u2019s lineup<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":105602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"_primary_brand":0,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4693],"tags":[10,4838,4692],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"class_list":["post-105601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-big-story-today","tag-enterpriseam-ksa","tag-news-lead","tag-the-big-story-today","wpautop","entry"],"acf":{"mongo_id":"693e846b-51af-46ef-b870-82851e417298","order":"3","is_powered_by":false,"story_type":"1","photo_url":"https:\/\/ent.news\/2026\/2\/358.jpg","photo_position":"above","homepage_title":"","full_issue_title":"Ronaldo\u2019s dissent highlights uneven spending in the SPL","related_issue":[105596],"teaser":"The latest transfer window was absent any major additions to Al Nassr\u2019s lineup"},"yoast_head":"\nRonaldo\u2019s dissent highlights uneven spending in the SPL - 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