I went to Saudi to see league poaching the stars: Tired stadiums in 36C oven…is this the sweaty new face of football?
IT’S the hyper-rich league changing the face of football by hoovering up soccer greats from across the globe.
But what is it like being an ordinary fan at games as the controversial Saudi Pro League kicks off this week?
The Sun sent a team into the stands at the pick of the first round of games – England heroes Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson’s Al-Ettifaq v soccer icon Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.
And we can exclusively confirm that it ain’t half hot – in fact, it’s VERY hot.
Temperatures which had touched 41C during the day were still simmering at 36C as the game kicked off at 9pm.
But the real killer was suffocating 60 per cent humidity in the desert dust bowl of Dammam.
How on earth players manage to perform in such a furnace is beyond me.
I found myself soaked to the skin in sweat only two minutes after stepping out of my taxi – and I was just a spectator.
Even locals accustomed to the unbearable conditions were tearing up cardboard boxes to create make-shift fans as the game got under way.
Having experienced the glamour and glitz of last year’s World Cup in neighbouring Qatar, my arrival at the former Kop aces’ new Saudi home was also something of a shock.
The tired Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Stadium was built way back in 1973 and needs rather more than a lick of paint – it needs air conditioning.
It seats 26,000 but was only half full, despite the promise of megastars including Ronaldo and Liverpool favourites Gerrard, Henderson and Al-Nassr’s Sadio Mane.
And the already depleted atmosphere was further deflated by the multi-purpose venue’s bright blue running track keeping fans remote from the action.
Players on show have graced World Cups and Champions League games in space age stadium packed with football aficionados – but will need to adjust to their new Saudi fan base.
We found the sparsely populated stands thronged with an enthusiastic mix of men in t-shirts and jeans or white Arab robes and and women in burkas.
Virtually all wore scarves or carried flags and loved the novelty of two Western fans as myself and Sun photogtapher Ian Whittaker joined them.
Several spoke English and swapped gossip about their Premier League heroes before posing with us for selfies.
Seating was not segregated – as we had expected – and veiled women cheered both sides as enthusiastically as the men.
The red and green-clad home supporters oddly concentrated in blocks in the main stand while the yellow and blue sea of fans of Riyadh-based Al-Nassr occupied a corner opposite.
But large swathes of faded blue plastic seats stayed bare – despite the millions spent creating this odd soccer spectacle.
Gerrard, 43, is raking in a cool, tax free £15.2 million-a-year – after he was axed by Aston Villa and had approaches ignored by Championship clubs.
Henderson, 33, more than tripled his Liverpool salary to land a bumper £700,000-a-week deal in the twilight of his stellar career.
But all the Saudi deals being done have been eclipsed by the mega money heaped upon 37-year-old Ronaldo, who earns a ridiculous £3.4 million each week – £484,000 per day.
Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of Al-Nassr fans wore yellow replica shirts emblazoned with their Portuguese hero’s name or flags paying homage.
But with just 30 minutes to go to kick-off, groans filled the air as they discovered their talisman had been injured and had not even travelled to Dammam for the game.
Supporters were further dismayed by one of the worst first halves of football it has been my misfortune to witness.
Mane opened the scoring after four minutes with a tap-in for Al-Nassr after a well-worked moved but players including Henderson and former Celtic star Jack Hendry visibly wilted.
The oven-like temperatures left several spells played at walking pace and the teams were forced to take four water breaks before half time.
The snail’s pace of the game and a string of stoppages left the friendly but clearly frustrated fans performing Mexican waves with their mobile phone torches long before the break.
But battler Henderson led a laboured second half comeback to the delight of Ettifaq fans, firing red flares and waving “Welcome Gerrard” banners.
Two dreadful clangers from Al-Nassr’s reserve keeper Nawaf al-Aqidi gifted goals to sweating Swedish forward Robin Quaison former Fulham and Celtic star Moussa Dembélé.
And Gerrard – who had braved the heat pacing the coach’s technical area in a black t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms – punched the air as the final whistle sealed his first Saudi points.
He said after the game: “You don’t really appreciate that type of heat until you actually come and work in these conditions.
“The climate has definitely been tough and challenging. So I’m going to have to adapt, and so are some of the signings we’ve made from Europe.
“We don’t want to leave our energy on the training pitch.
“There are things we have to change and … I’m facing the challenges, accepting them. I know what I’ve signed up for.”
The venue may have been more League One than Wembley, but experts predict the Saudi Pro League now poses a serious threat to England’s all-powerful Premiere League.
Brazilian superstar Neymar, 31, is the latest galactico to be tempted by the Saudi shilling – a £21.6 million-a week deal which was eight times his pay at French giants PSG.
Riyadh’s government-funded Al-Hilal has also included an obscene package of luxuries in his package.
He was handed the keys to a Bentley Continental GP, an Aston Martin DBX Lamborghini Huracan – worth more than £500,000 combined -plus four Mercedes G Wagons and a Mercedes van for his entourage.
His loved ones will also is have their own luxury vehicle with chauffeur on standby 24/7.
He has also been gifted a stunning 25-room swimming pooled mansion with a fridge fully stocked with his favourite Acai juice and Guarana – plus a staff of five servants and a cook.
No other league in the world can offer already spoiled stars such levels of pampering – and it’s feared a mass exodus could drain all of the Premier League’s established talent.
The Saudis are offering limitless money while transfer rivals in England wrestle with strict financial fair play rules making even well-run clubs feel poor.
And Prem fans will this season be deprived of the skills of great players including Manchester City’s treble winner Riyadh Mahrez, Newcastle’s Allan Saint-Maximin and Wolves captain Ruben Neves as a result.
Saudi diplomatic sources deny its government-funded campaign – which has also snapped up Newcastle United FC – is an attempt to “sportswash” its grim human rights record.
A diplomat old me: “We have a very young, upwardly mobile population and want to encourage their interest in sport and competition.
“We admit we have made mistakes – very bad mistakes – but we are changing for the better and football is an important part of that change.
“Saudi fans love England’s Premier League but we want them to love their own league just as much.
“We are in this for the long game and don’t just want the best players – we want a World Cup.”
Supporters filing out of Al-Ettifaq’s shabby stadium also welcomed moves to buy even more stars.
Fan Abdullah Al Otaish, a 25-year-old chemical engineer, said: “This may not be the best stadium yet – but rest assured it is only the beginning.
“Lots of young Saudi people like me are crazy about football and are thrilled to see the stars coming to play here.
“I’ve just come back from a trip to London and love your country and your Premier League – but soon your stars will come to us.
“It is an exciting time.”