Saudi Arabia is interested in discussions about joining Europe’s top football club tournament, the Champions League, as the kingdom spends hundreds of millions of dollars to attract some of the world’s best players and shake up the sport.
“We are trying to be different, so any kind of format-changing or improvements that can be introduced into the league will be welcomed,” the Saudi Pro League’s chief operating officer, Carlo Nohra, said in an interview.
UEFA members include a few non-European countries, including Kazakhstan, whose clubs can participate in the Champions League. Saudi teams have spent about $650 million in recent months recruiting players including Karim Benzema from Real Madrid, Brazil’s Neymar and Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson. “We are doing whatever it takes to have those players coming to Saudi Arabia,” said Nohra, who previously worked for World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. “That doesn’t mean it’s an open-ended budget. But we cannot handcuff ourselves if we want to bring some of the best talents here. We’ve got to pay the going rates to bring them here.”
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