The UEFA is so far ahead that no matter what they do in the Asian area, they won't close the gap at all for the next five decades. Only if a dozen states decide to take tons of money and pimp their national leagues. But they would still have to convince South American and European players to go there. It's not enough to get some almost retired players like Ronaldo and some money grabbers. They would need the next Messi, Mbappe, Modric, Zidane, Robben, Ribery, Maldini, Buffon etc. That's when people from all over the world would start watching those games on a regular basis. Now it was only short term hype because of Ronaldo.
Their Arab governments built a very good reputation for football in Arabia. They started by bringing in legendary players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by Benzema, Neymar, Firminho and many more, even some Man City and Chelsea players and also Aston Villa. The point is that a lot of players have been brought in. And I think they do it for more than just popularity. But to provide experience and lessons to local players in Arabia so they are better able to compete with European players. And I see the development of the players getting better after the SPL brought in many European players. And I hope everyone doesn't forget that many of the big clubs in Europe are also owned by Arab businessmen and rich Arab people. Let's take a look at how many clubs playing in the UCL currently are also owned by Arabs. It proves that if they intend to get more players to come then they can do it. Because there are clubs in the Premier League and La Liga that already belong to them. I am always amazed by the way they do business. And I think they also understand that the SPL will slowly progress and its reputation will continue to increase. Even though it takes time, they already know that. And currently hundreds of countries broadcast SPL. So I think the SPL can no longer be underestimated.
This Saudi strategy is not something that will last long without failing. So far, Ronaldo is serving as a bridge for more players to accept playing in this league, and since the Arabs are offering a lot of money to the players who accept playing in this league, so for now everything is fine. But in this league, the only motivation the players have is the money they earn. They are not striving to win individual awards, they are not striving to be famous, so when the day comes that Ronaldo retires and the Arabs no longer have much money to pay the players' high salaries, the league will die, it will go back to what it was before Ronaldo appeared.
It is different from what has been happening in Europe. For example, a Liverpool player earns a lower salary than Ronaldo, but he is playing with the goal of being recognized by other big teams in Europe. When he plays in the European Champions League, he feels more confident that he needs to play very well to win some award. So he is not playing just for the money, it is more than that. He plays to gain prestige.
Al Hilal is unstoppable