🌍 Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabia and di Deal Wey Pay Off for Both Sides 📸🌴
As di sun set over a seemingly endless expanse of open sea, Lionel Messi 🐐👑 take seat for di edge of one boat, stretch out im leg and pose for di photograph wey go announce di beginning of im public partnership with Saudi Arabia.
Di image, wey e share with Messi 400 million-plus followers on Instagram on May 9, 2022, follow with one dual-language caption wey read, “Discovering di Red Sea #VisitSaudi.” Hours earlier, dem don welcome am to di kingdom, as Saudi Arabia tourism minister brag on top Twitter say e go be Messi first visit, but “e no go be di last.”
Messi, wey di whole world see as one of di greatest soccer players ever, don begin to cash in on top dis new partnership: di photo-op wey e do for Red Sea fit don give am approximately $2 million 💰, and na just di first step to fulfill im agreement with di kingdom wey worth millions more.
Di details of Messi’s role as well-compensated pitchman for Saudi Arabia dey inside one previously undisclosed version of im contract with di tourism authority. Dis contract show say Messi fit collect as much as 22.5 million euros, about $25 million, over three years for little actual work: a few commercial appearances, some social media posts, and all-expenses-paid vacations to di kingdom with im family and children. Dem expect say e go share images of those trips — marked with Saudi-approved hashtag — with im plenty online following.
But di document still get one condition wey important to Saudi officials: Messi no fit talk anything wey fit “tarnish” Saudi Arabia, di country wey don face widespread criticism for human rights record.
Dem details of di arrangement between Messi, wey don win di World Cup with Argentina for December, na true insight into di oil-rich kingdom’s use of im wealth to enlist top athletes for dem effort to shine dia global image. People wey criticize Saudi Arabia call dis strategy sportswashing: e mean say dem dey use sports and sports figures to hide di country’s human rights record, how dem treat women, how dem kill Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and oda authoritarian actions.
For di past few years, Saudi Arabia don spend plenty billions to invest for professional sports: dem buy Premier League soccer team, organize championship boxing matches, add Formula 1 auto racing for dia schedule, and recently, dem enta professional golf full leg.
Dem don offer hundreds of millions of dollars to entice Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and many oda soccer stars to come play for di kontri’s domestic league. Messi recently reject similar offer, e choose join Inter Miami for Major League Soccer inside United States 🇺🇸. But so far, e never show say di decision affect im relationship with di Saudis. Instead, e dey eager to maintain good relationship with dem.
For February 2021, few weeks after e sign di contract, Messi write letter give Saudi tourism minister, dey apologize say e no fit make di visit wey dem schedule. In di letter wey dem never report before, Messi address di tourism minister, Ahmed al-Khateeb, as “Your Excellency” and e express im “deepest regrets” for im absence. Messi bin dey play for F.C. Barcelona that time, and e write say as “a sportsman,” e get obligations wey e no fit skip: one league game against Real Betis and match for Spanish cup.
Na later wey Messi go visit Saudi Arabia. Di most important part be say as e be so, e never publicly say anything wey fit damage im relationship with di kingdom or di pipo. Na love and support im dey show dem. ❤️🤝
NOW IN ENGLISH
🌍 Lionel Messi, Saudi Arabia, and the Deal That Pays Off for Both Sides 📸🌴
As the sun sets over a seemingly endless expanse of open sea, Lionel Messi 🐐👑 takes a seat at the edge of a boat, stretches out his leg, and poses for the photograph that will announce the beginning of his public partnership with Saudi Arabia.
The image, which he shares with Messi’s 400 million-plus followers on Instagram on May 9, 2022, is accompanied by a dual-language caption that reads, “Discovering the Red Sea #VisitSaudi.” Hours earlier, he was welcomed to the kingdom, as the Saudi Arabia tourism minister boasted on Twitter that it would be Messi’s first visit but “not his last.”
Messi, who is seen by the whole world as one of the greatest soccer players ever, has started cashing in on this new partnership: the photo opportunity he had in the Red Sea could have earned him approximately $2 million 💰, and it’s just the first step to fulfill his agreement with the kingdom, which is worth millions more.
The details of Messi’s role as a well-compensated pitchman for Saudi Arabia are outlined in a previously undisclosed version of his contract with the tourism authority. This contract reveals that Messi could earn as much as 22.5 million euros, about $25 million, over three years for minimal actual work: a few commercial appearances, some social media posts, and all-expenses-paid vacations to the kingdom with his family and children. It is expected that he will share images of those trips—marked with a Saudi-approved hashtag—with his substantial online following.
However, the document also includes a crucial condition that is important to Saudi officials: Messi is not allowed to speak anything that could “tarnish” Saudi Arabia, the country that has faced widespread criticism for its human rights record.
These details of the arrangement between Messi, who won the World Cup with Argentina in December, provide insight into the oil-rich kingdom’s use of its wealth to enlist top athletes in their efforts to enhance their global image. Critics of Saudi Arabia refer to this strategy as “sportswashing,” meaning they use sports and sports figures to conceal the country’s human rights record, mistreatment of women, the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, and other authoritarian actions.
In recent years, Saudi Arabia has spent billions of dollars investing in professional sports: they have purchased a Premier League soccer team, organized championship boxing matches, added Formula 1 auto racing to their schedule, and most recently, entered professional golf full swing.
They have offered hundreds of millions of dollars to entice Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and many other soccer stars to come and play in the country’s domestic league. Messi recently turned down a similar offer, choosing to join Inter Miami in Major League Soccer in the United States 🇺🇸. But so far, it has not been shown that this decision has affected his relationship with the Saudis. Instead, he remains eager to maintain a good relationship with them.
In February 2021, a few weeks after signing the contract, Messi wrote a letter to the Saudi tourism minister, apologizing for not being able to make the scheduled visit. In the previously unreported letter, Messi addressed the tourism minister, Ahmed al-Khateeb, as “Your Excellency” and expressed his “deepest regrets” for his absence. Messi was playing for F.C. Barcelona at the time and stated that as a sportsman, he had obligations that he could not skip: a league game against Real Betis and a match in the Spanish cup.
Messi later visited Saudi Arabia. The most important part is that he has never publicly said anything that could damage his relationship with the kingdom or its people. He shows them love and support. ❤️🤝
