On a searingly sunny day in 1978, Brazil football superstar Rivelino stepped off a Concorde aeroplane in Riyadh to a massive roar from thousands of fans waving the flag of Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal.
He was ushered to a Rolls Royce and taken to a luxurious royal palace, where he was treated to a banquet hosted by members of the Saudi royal family.
The Brazil legend was, alongside Pele, a standout of the 1970 World Cup-winning side that is widely viewed as the greatest national team in history. When Saudi Arabia came calling in ‘78, he boasted 100 caps for the national team and wore the captain’s armband.
Watch every match of The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Live on Kayo Sports. Starts THU 5 OCT 7:30PM AEDT. Join Kayo now and start streaming instantly >
On that evening in Riyadh, he inked his signature on a multimillion-dollar contract that came with lavish bonuses: a brand-new Mercedes, a $10,000-a-month living allowance, and a royal’s palace in which to live.
One of the world’s finest and most well-known players had been wooed by money and luxury.
Forty-five years later the parallels are clear. Saudi Arabia is again embarking upon a transformational project to boost its local sporting industry and shake up the established global order, and football is at its core.
Instead of Rivelino, it’s Ronaldo. Cristiano, one of the greatest players of all time and one of the most famous figures in world sport, began an exodus of top players to Saudi Arabia when he signed for state-owned Al-Nassr in January for a reported €200 million ($A330 million) per year.
Like Rivelino, Ronaldo was the first drop in what has quickly become a flood – one that some believe poses an ‘existential threat’ to the traditional leagues of Europe
Read on foxsports.com.au