The WALL STREET JOURNAL looks back at "the year Saudi Arabia upended the world’s most popular sport." Until Cristiano Ronaldosigned with Al Nassr last year, Saudi Arabia "had been a soccer backwater." But one year on, Saudi Arabia is "still serious about spending its way to relevance" as it prepares to host the 2034 World Cup. In the months that followed Ronaldo's signing, clubs from the Saudi Pro League "would promise billions to dozens of stars" who were "prepared to trade the spotlight of Europe for a lavishly funded assignment in the desert." More than "simply building a league that mixed aging superstars with local Saudi players," the Kingdom was "loudly announcing its ambition: Saudi Arabia was putting itself on the soccer map."
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