What a Clasico Supercopa in Jeddah tells us about the relationship between Spain and Saudi Arabia
Today’s Spanish Supercopa final between Barcelona and Real Madrid at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah is the most visible symbol of a fast-developing link between Spanish football and Saudi Arabia. Now in its fifth year, the ‘Saudi Supercopa’ is considered by some as the cherry on top of a mutually beneficial relationship.
As well as hosting one of Spain’s major knockout competitions, nine Spanish players are currently registered with Saudi Pro League (SPL) sides. The highest profile is La Roja’s Euro 2024-winning centre-back Aymeric Laporte at Al Nassr, and former Madrid captain Nacho Fernandez at Al Qadsiah.
At coaching and executive level the Spanish influence in the SPL is even greater. Ex-Barcelona director and City Group chief commercial officer Esteve Calzada is CEO at Al Hilal. Former Madrid defender and Spain’s World Cup 2018 national coach Fernando Hierro is sporting director at Al Nassr. One-time Barca, Getafe and Real Betis sporting director Ramon Planes has that role now at Al Ittihad.
Dozens of lower-profile Spanish figures, including players, coaches, physios, executives and specialists in areas from youth development to marketing, are also currently working in Saudi.
“Nobody can argue with the quality of Spanish football,” an SPL source — granted anonymity to speak openly, like all others consulted for this story — says of Saudi Arabia’s growing relationship with Spanish football. “The national team’s style of play has been captivating. Spanish coaches are some of the best in the world.”
Lamine Yamal scored for Barcelona against Bilbao in the Supercopa semi-final in Jeddah on Wednesday (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
But just as with Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) takeover of Premier League Newcastle United and the kingdom being awarded the 2034 World Cup, such collaboration does not come without controversy.
When the Supercopa first moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020, it was a shock to many. The initial six-year, €240million deal (£200m at current exchange rates) with the Saudi government’s Sela sports marketing body was agreed by RFEF president Luis Rubiales (now disgraced) in 2019 and brokered by former Barcelona player Gerard Pique (whose company Kosmos received €24m in commission).
Spanish government ministers initially questioned playing the competition in a country with well-publicised human rights issues, among them equality for women and the persecution of LGBTQ+ people. Rubiales responded by branding it the ‘Equality Supercopa’, saying “we can either stand aside or we can get involved and contribute to change”.
GO DEEPER
Apart from the financial benefit, there’s little ‘magnificent’ about the Supercopa being held in Saudi Arabia
Madrid and Barcelona were at first unconvinced as the revamped competition — going from two teams to four teams — would add extra games at an awkward moment of the calendar. They were placated by guaranteed big pay days just for taking part in the new format. Saudi-based sources say the Clasico duo’s all-but-guaranteed involvement was a massive factor in sealing the deal.
Madrid won the first ‘Saudi Supercopa’ final, beating Atletico Madrid on penalties in Jeddah. Few concerns were raised about human rights issues in the Spanish media, with more jokes about how to bring Spanish jamon serrano to a Muslim country. The biggest news from the competition was Barca coach Ernesto Valverde getting sacked after defeat by Atletico in the semis.
When the Covid-19 pandemic meant no teams could travel in January 2021, the problem was solved by extending the agreement to 2029. Rubiales often boasted of the money raised, which he said would trickle down throughout Spanish football.
“We’ve been treated so well and the organisation has all been magnificent,” Madrid president Florentino Perez said after the 2-0 victory over Bilbao’s Athletic Club in the 2022 final in Riyadh. “This has been a good week for Spanish football, which has been internationally recognised by everyone.”
Fans support Athletic Club at the Supercopa semi-final in Jeddah on Wednesday (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
However, not everyone has agreed with Barca and Madrid sharing the majority of the €20m prize pot each year. Valencia sued the RFEF asking for more, receiving a settlement, which meant they got €5.1m for 2023, up from just €1m in 2020. The issue persists: Athletic president Jon Uriarte called this week for a “fairer” distribution.
A more disturbing issue came at this year’s semi-final between RCD Mallorca and Madrid in Jeddah on Thursday, where it is alleged that women at the stadium were “harassed” and “inappropriately touched without consent” — reports that RFEF are said to be following up.
A less serious issue has been lower crowds at games without Barca or Madrid, and few supporters from back home able to attend. “It’s a shame that we have to play hundreds of kilometres away from our fans and our families,” Athletic’s Inaki Williams said after his side was beaten 2-0 in the semi-final by Barcelona on Wednesday. “For me, it makes no sense that we go to play in Arabia, but well, football is like this now.”
“If it was China or the United States, I’d say the same,” Mallorca’s right-back Pablo Maffeo told The Athletic this week, before his side lost 3-0 to Madrid. “I’d like to play the Spanish Supercopa in Spain.”
GO DEEPER
Pablo Maffeo, the hardest defender Messi’s ever faced: ‘It’s the best recognition’
Back in January 2020, La Liga President Javier Tebas called the Supercopa’s move to Saudi sportswashing and highlighted the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi embassy in Turkey 18 months previously.
Tebas had another big concern over Saudi having been accused of failing to take effective action against alleged piracy of Qatar-based beIN Sports’ content by BeOutQ, including La Liga games. But by then La Liga was already building its relationship with Saudi football.
In January 2018, La Liga organised for nine young Saudi players to be loaned to seven Primera and Segunda Division clubs. Just two of these players ever made a first-team appearance and the project was soon quietly shelved (although Salem Al-Dawsari was a Villarreal player when he scored Saudi Arabia’s match-winner against Egypt at World Cup 2018, and having returned to Al Hilal he hit the famous winner against Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022).
More successful is the Saudi federation’s Future Falcons project, under which the most talented Saudi teenage players receive specialist coaching and development at a training centre in Salou, Catalonia. Ex-Madrid and Blackburn Rovers right-back Michel Salgado coaches the Falcons and Saudi’s under-16 international team. Salgado’s Falcons regularly play against top Spanish and European youth sides — they beat Ajax’s under-16s 3-2 in Tarragona last month.
Spain also has a Saudi-owned club — Segunda side Almeria were bought for around €30m in 2019 by Turki Al Sheikh, chairman of the Saudi government’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA). Sources familiar with Saudi government policy say this is a “personal investment” — more akin to Prince Abdullah Al Saud’s ownership of English club Sheffield United than the PIF’s ownership of Newcastle.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez with Almeria owner Al Sheikh in 2022 (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
Under Al Sheikh’s presidency, Almeria have spent over €150m on players. Current Liverpool forward Darwin Nunez was bought for €12m from Uruguayan side Penarol in summer 2019, scoring 16 goals in 30 Segunda Division games, before being sold to Portugal’s Benfica for €34m. After two seasons in Primera, Almeria were relegated last summer, but currently sit top of the Segunda and beat Andalusian neighbours Sevilla 4-1 in the Copa del Rey last week.
Commercial links between Spanish football and Saudi Arabia have also been growing in recent years. Barcelona had a sponsorship arrangement with financial institution Samba from 2013 to 2023. The Saudi Investment Bank SAIB has been Madrid’s “official bank in Saudi Arabia” since October 2023.
The most lucrative is between Riyadh Air and Atletico. The Saudi government-owned airline has been Atletico’s shirt sponsors since August 2023, a deal reportedly worth €40m. Atletico’s stadium has been officially known as the Riyadh Air Metropolitano since a nine-year naming rights agreement, reportedly worth between €250-€300m over nine years, was signed last October. Atletico declined to confirm these figures.
The Madrid-based World Football Summit held their big international sports business event in Saudi Arabia last December. Speakers included Tebas and Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia’s World Cup 2034 bid, with dozens of Spanish executives also attending.
“Organisations tend to take a pragmatic approach and prioritise sporting and economic benefits,” said a Spanish source who has worked in Saudi. “Making connections with Saudi Arabia allows people to position themselves with a country whose influence in world football is growing.”
Tebas was not in Saudi for the Supercopa this week — La Liga was instead represented by Maite Ventura, La Liga’s director for Middle East and North Africa — but his past concerns about sportswashing seem long forgotten.
In August 2023, La Liga announced a partnership with ‘Visit Saudi’ worth a reported €20m, which was superseded in October 2024 by a new deal with Riyadh Season, the programme of sports and entertainment events held in Saudi organised by the GEA. La Liga and Spanish clubs even have a dedicated workspace within the SPL headquarters — Tebas and SPL CEO Omar Mugharbel opened it together at an event last December.
“La Liga are trying to be active and cultivate a fanbase, while the Premier League or Bundesliga are just not doing stuff in Saudi,” said a Saudi-based source.
GO DEEPER
Why Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup is controversial
Former Madrid galactico Cristiano Ronaldo joining the SPL in 2023 drew the attention of everyone in Spanish football — including La Liga clubs looking to offload unwanted players, and agents chasing lucrative deals for them and their clients.
Not everyone thought it was positive. When Spain Under-21 midfielder Gabri Veiga joined Al Ahli from Celta Vigo for €30m in 2023, Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos called the move “shameful” on Instagram and “a decision for the money, and against football.“ Kroos was then whistled loudly by fans during both his team’s games at last year’s Supercopa.
Spain international Laporte, who joined Al Nassr from Manchester City in the summer of 2023 for €27.5m, complained to AS the following December about a lack of professionalisation and facilities in Saudi. That was widely publicised in Spain, but does not seem to have put off others from following him.
“I understand what Laporte said, you cannot compare with Spain or England, but (the Saudis) have the will and the means to develop a football culture,” a source close to a high-profile Spaniard helping with that development tells The Athletic.
Laporte is among those strengthening Spain’s links with Saudi Arabia (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
The biggest Spanish influence has been at Al Qadsiah, a team owned by Saudi oil giant Aramco. With Carlos Anton as technical director and former Madrid midfielder Michel Gonzalez as coach, Al Qadsiah were promoted to the SPL last season. They then signed six-time Champions League winner Nacho along with a raft of other Spanish speakers including ex-Barca striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who spoke about playing in Saudi Arabia in an interview with The Athletic published earlier this month. Al Qadsiah currently sit fourth in the SPL table and Aubameyang was among the scorers in Tuesday’s 3-0 Kings Cup quarter-final win over Al Taawoun.
Al Qadsiah also hired a dozen Spanish technical staff, including doctors, fitness coaches and Michel’s assistant — his son Adrian Gonzalez. A source close to one of those Spaniards says Anton, Michel and their staff have not looked to impose their own values or way of working on the Saudi club, saying: “They have their professionalism and methodology, but they also respected the culture they found.” Most staff live with their families in a compound with access to restaurants, shops and services. “They don’t lack for anything, they’re very happy, and their wives are happy, with a pretty normal day-to-day life,” said the source.
Most SPL teams now have Spaniards in many off-field positions. Ex-Atletico and Getafe goalkeeping coach Toni Mengual is at Al Nassr. Former Real Betis head physio Manuel Alcantarilla is at Al Ittihad. Ex-Sevilla club doctor Juanjo Jimenez is at Al Hilal. The Saudi federation hired ex-Barcelona women’s coach Lluis Cortes to manage their senior international women’s team.
When The Athletic asked for motivating factors to leave Spain for Saudi Arabia, reasons given included the ambition the Saudis are showing, resources available to do their jobs and value for their future CVs. But nobody denies the financial motive for players, coaches, staff and executives: “People know they can make a leap, financially speaking, on what they can earn in Spain outside of Madrid, Barca and Atleti,” said a source involved in connecting people with such opportunities.
Fans at the Supercopa semi-final in Jeddah (Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
None of the Spaniards consulted for this article saw the Saudi government’s human rights record as a big problem. No Spanish player or coach has experienced the type of media scrutiny which former Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson faced during his six-month spell at Al Ettifaq, before he left for Ajax.
“Our cultural closeness in values like respect, discipline and teamwork help the integration of Spaniards in the Saudi environment,” said a Spaniard working in Saudi youth development. A top Spanish agent who has brokered big transfers to the SPL says players targeted often ask about the culture and freedom, but after talking to other players already in the country few decide against a move.
Figures on both sides say the relationship will only grow closer in the future, especially with Spain co-hosting World Cup 2030 and the Saudis hosting in 2034. Everyone insists the Saudi authorities also remain very happy to host the Supercopa, especially a Clasico final in Riyadh.
“There were comments in the past but people now realise that Saudi is a big footballing country,” a source familiar with its government thinking said. “The Supercopa is a reason for celebration within the kingdom. It’s been accepted and normalised now as a tradition to start the year.”
GO DEEPER
Is football in Saudi Arabia getting any better?
(Top photo: Real Madrid playing in the Supercopa in Saudi Arabia on Thursday; by Yasser Bakhsh via Getty Images)
