The seven reasons behind Cristiano Ronaldo’s anger

Al Waleed bin Talal turned the global soccer market upside down in just 48 hours. The Saudi prince and the man directly in charge of Al Hilal managed to persuade Karim Benzema to walk away from his commitment to Al Ittihad and, without paying a transfer fee, bring the French forward to the Riyadh club on a one-and-a-half-year contract.

At the same time, the move triggered one of the strangest episodes in modern soccer for Al Hilal’s great rival – and the prince’s personal nemesis – Al Nassr, the club of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese star and team talisman was left in the stands as a form of protest against what both the player and the club see as an unequal treatment. Ronaldo’s anger goes further still and he appears ready to bring his time in Saudi Arabia to an end. For now, he chose not to train on Tuesday.

In concrete terms, there are seven reasons behind the move and Ronaldo’s frustration – namely, each and every player signed by Al Hilal during the winter transfer window. They are Meité ($32.4m, Stade Rennes), Boubaré ($24.8m, Neom), Al Hawsawi ($9m, Al Khaalej), Mandash ($3.7m, Al Taawoun), Marí ($2.2m, Fiorentina), Benzema (free, Al Ittihad) and Al Dossary (free, Al Khaalej). By contrast, Al Nassr made just two signings: the Iraqi midfielder Abdulkareem and the domestic player Al Hamdan, who arrived from Al Hilal.

The fallout from all this has reinforced the arguments of those who claim the Saudi league shows a clear bias toward Al Hilal, aided by government intervention. Benzema’s new club is the dominant force – and the one that has long enjoyed the favor of the Saudi royal family.

Who is Al Waleed bin Talal?

Ownership of Al Hilal was transferred to Kingdom Holding Company, owned by Prince Al Waleed bin Talal, for $1.85bn, granting him 100% control. He is regarded as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world, and sources within the Saudi league have said that the $75.8m spent in this transfer window came entirely from his own pocket – a fact that has done nothing to ease Cristiano Ronaldo’s discontent.

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