German midfielder and multi-champion for Real Madrid claims that human rights violations are one of the main reasons preventing him from playing in Saudi Arabia
After a lot of players and a lot of money has been spent in the football market of Saudi Arabia, the movements opened a discussion about the use of this money and the decision making of athletes about their career goals. stars like Neymar Jr., Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Sadio Mane, among others, take advantage of the astronomical salaries received. However, midfielder Toni Kroosidol of Real Madridmade a point of highlighting the problems that revolve around the exodus of football players to the Asian continent.
In an interview given to Sports Illustrated, the German spoke about the main cases of athletes who were seduced by the high values of Saudi football. According to the midfielder, money has been the main point for opening the new market, and he does not consider this healthy for the sport.
“They say ambitious football is played there, but everything revolves around money. In the end, it’s a decision for the money and it goes against football. And so it starts to get tough for the football we all know and love.”pinned Toni Kroos.
At the Real Madrid since 2014, the German has been a great companion of the player who can be considered responsible for this change. In December of last year, Cristiano Ronaldo arranged his transfer to the Al Nassrafter terminating the Manchester United. In Saudi Arabia, he already has 25 goals in 29 matches.
For Kroos, Ronaldo’s decision-making, already a veteran and with a consolidated career, is different from the choice of young athletes. In addition, he made a point of pointing out that the violations of human rights that take place in Saudi Arabia are a very negative point that would interfere with a possible trip to the country.
“Everyone has to make this decision for themselves, like Cristiano Ronaldo, who chose to do this at the end of his career. But it’s complicated when players who are in mid-career and have the quality to play for the best clubs in Europe decide to take that path. The lack of human rights would prevent me from going (to Saudi Arabia)”, said the German.
Source: sportbuzz
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
