Money sometimes does buy happiness

Saudi Arabia have invested millions in football and have reaped rewards. The blow up came when Ronaldo signed a two-and-a-half year contract estimated in media reports to be worth more than 200 million euros ($220.16 million) with Al Nassr, making his debut in January 2023.

Manchester City, now considered the best team in the world, is the latest club owned by a Saudi Arabian, Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, often referred to as Sheikh Mansour, an Emirati royal and politician who is the current vice-president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, as well the minister of presidential court and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.

Winning the English Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, Manchester City were crowned treble winners, only the second team to do so in England after Alex Furguson’s Manchester United in 2008.

The chants “Manchester is blue!” have become common in Manchester for the last eight years. A Manchester United fan’s nightmare.

I speak as a fan of a team that has been overshadowed by a rival team for so many years and all that keeps us hoping for brighter days, is history.

Another prominent team that has been on the rise is Paris Saint-Germain Football FC, commonly referred to as PSG, a professional club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football.

PSG signed Lionel Messi, the best player in the world, in the summer of 2021 on a two-year deal after leaving Barcelona due to their financial issues. The Argentine has since played 71 times for the French side, scoring 31 goals, recording 34 assists and lifted the Ligue 1 title in 2022.

Nasser bin Ghanim Al-Khelaifi, owner of PSG, is a Qatari businessman and the chairman of beIN Media Group, chairman of Qatar Sports Investments, president of the Qatar Tennis Federation, and vice-president of the Asian Tennis Federation for West Asia.

At this stage he’s got to be happy with the team’s progress, as they set sights on the Champions League.

Now Saudi Arabian football teams have set their sights on signing big profile players such as Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté of France, Ruben Neves of Portugal, Kalidou Koulibaly and his Senegal teammate Edouard Mendy – all moving to Saudi Arabia as they were offered lucrative deals.

All in all, Middle East countries are using wealth to buy success and happiness when it comes to football. This follows after Qatar hosted a memorable World Cup.

So all this shows that money definitely does buy happiness. As all this teams have invested millions of dollars and reaped rewards.