Cristiano Ronaldo - Short Lived and Short Sighted
In 2007, David Beckham took a 70% pay cut to move to the United States. Messi turned down $400 million from the Al-Saud regime to move to Miami. While Cristiano Ronaldo took the money the Al-Sauds offered and moved to Saudi Arabia. David Beckham is now worth $500 Million. In return for less money in Miami, Messi got an ownership stake in Dezer's Bentley Residences. His decision paid off because the company he has a stake in is now up 100% to more than 1 billion dollars.
Christiano Ronaldo took the Al-Saudi money, and they gave him everything he asked for. Even the right to defy the law that says an unmarried couple is not allowed to cohabitate. While, the average citizen or visitor can find themselves serving jail time for such an act. They dress him in the traditional Saudi dress and parade him about like a show pony, but he is way less than that; a show pony gets to retire with dignity. Sadly, his short-sighted decisions make him a perfect fit for the regime since he can't see the end game.
David moved to a country where what he owns belongs to him and where the American dream, although overlooked by many, is still available. Messi has done the same. Christiano took a one-way trip down a rabbit hole where, on Saudi soil, he would be pampered, spoiled, and given everything he asks for as long as he is useful. Nothing they have given him belongs to him, not the car, not the penthouse, not even the fame, for that too belongs to the Saudi Regime. What the kingdom gives, it can take away just as fast. Hypothetically, if he bought the car when he arrived with his money, it is his. That, again, is short-sighted. After all, the law in Saudi Arabia is not the law; it is the law of whatever the Al-Saud regime says it is. And, when they ask you to leave and escort you to the airport, they won't give you enough time to sell it and collect the money.
We must thank Cristiano for providing another framework to see how investing and taking Al-Saud's money works. Sadly, he will end his career with the Saudi League, and since he has already been suspended from two games for pointing at his crotch, it shows that someone is very unhappy. They're happy, and you're happy as long as you serve a purpose. When that purpose is outlived, they will snap their fingers, and all will be gone. Contracts, laws, human rights, and women's rights, all be damned. They don't respect the rights of their own people. Will they respect the rights of someone they consider to be nothing but hired help to push their agenda?
With all that in mind, they may be perfect for each other. Christiano could not see past the short-lived financial gain just as the Saudi regime cannot see past the short-lived financial gain of bringing in tourists to see a new giant stadium, flying robots, Noem, and so many other marvels that, in the end, lack the basic infrastructure to sustain themselves long term.
Elise Evans Martin
Executive Director of Human Rights Matter | Dissident of Saudi Arabia | Female Women's Rights Activist | Author | Speaker
