Karim Benzema, one of soccer’s greatest players and a fixture at Spanish giant Real Madrid for more than a decade, has agreed to join Saudi champions Al-Ittihad on a three-year deal that will make him the kingdom’s latest acquisition. rapidly expanding his ambitions and influence in sports.

The decision of Benzema, a 35-year-old French striker, to go to Saudi Arabia was confirmed by Al-Ittihad on Tuesday after days of rumors. While an unusual choice for a player still perceived as an elite talent in one of Europe’s top leagues, his acquisition might not be the latest high-profile signing from the Saudi league, embarking on a project of billion dollars, backed by the seemingly limitless wealth of the state-controlled Public Investment Fund, to make the kingdom a major player in world football.

Benzema’s arrival will come just months after another Saudi club lured another star, Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, with one of the biggest contracts in soccer history.

Between other marquee players The Saudi league’s target is said to be Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in December in Qatar. The salaries offered to the players are some of the highest in the history of the sport, according to interviews with agents, Saudi sports officials and consultants hired to run the project. All spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are private.

Saudi officials hope the presence of stars like Ronaldo and Benzema will convince dozens of successful players from Europe’s top leagues to follow them to the kingdom. The transfers are part of an ambitious plan, supported at the highest levels of the Saudi state and funded by the Public Investment Fund, to raise the profile of the Saudi league and the country’s status in world sports, and change perceptions of Saudi Arabia on the world stage.

Similar in scale and ambition to a Saudi-funded campaign to dominate professional golf through the year-long LIV Golf series, the soccer effort is a centralized plan to turn a national league that has long been an afterthought in a destination for elite talent.

The signing of Benzema, a Muslim of Algerian descent, occurred days after Saudi Arabia past ownership of the four biggest clubs in the Saudi Premier League to the government’s PIF by announcing that the fund had taken a 75 percent ownership stake in each team: Al-Ittihad, the newly crowned Saudi champions; Al-Nassr, who employs Ronaldo; and Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal. They are among the biggest and best followed clubs in Saudi football.

Those four clubs are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the PIF’s new approach to raising the profile of the league. But their joint ownership of the fund is already raising questions about sporting integrity, as rules from soccer’s world governing body FIFA and Asian soccer’s ruling confederation prohibit the same owner from controlling multiple clubs in the same competition. . Saudi officials said this week that they have taken steps to ensure that PIF-owned equipment complies with these regulations, but offered no evidence that such safeguards were in place.

The state’s involvement in soccer comes on the heels of a surprisingly strong performance by the Saudi Arabian national team at last year’s World Cup, where the team’s run included a shock win over Argentina. The stated aim of the project is to turn the country’s top division, the Saudi Pro League, into one of the top 10 national leagues in the world. The league is unlikely to become a true rival to more established leagues in Europe and elsewhere, but PIF resources could unsettle the multi-billion dollar global player market and raise the price of top talent from around the world.

The plan to gain a foothold in world soccer is reminiscent of a similar one from a decade ago in which China used high-dollar, high-profile acquisitions of European players and clubs. That plan, marred by broken contracts, economic implosions and the coronavirus pandemic, now appears to be in retreat.

The Saudi project, government officials have said, has broader goals than just a few dozen showroom firms. The government sees sports as a promising sector as it tries to diversify the Saudi economy, and officials have also said that increasing the importance of sports would help tackle the country’s obesity problem.

The Saudi plan will start on a solid financial footing: the PIF has already signed 20-year commercial deals worth tens of millions of dollars with the clubs it now controls, and sponsors the league itself through one of its portfolio companies. , the real estate developer Roshn.

The goal is for the four biggest teams to field three of the best foreign players each, and for another eight players to be spread across the league’s remaining 12 teams, according to one of the people briefed on plans to bring foreign stars to the league. league. , who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Critics of Saudi Arabia have called its heavy spending on sports an attempt to improve the kingdom’s image abroad and divert attention from its human rights record; Saudi officials have repeatedly denied these accusations.

It is unclear when Benzema will arrive in Jeddah, where Al-Ittihad is based, now that he has committed his future in a country that has a rich footballing history and where the sport is passionately followed.

One thing is for sure, though: whenever it does, Al-Ittihad fans, known as some of the most passionate in the country and riding high after winning their last league title, will be ready to deploy. the welcome mat.