Saudi Professional League clubs have completed a transfer revolution that has changed the format of the competition this season, signing foreign officials in decision-making positions.
Saudi clubs have not only attracted the stars of the five European leagues, but have contracted with giants in the world of sports management,
who have already worked in the world’s top clubs, to serve as professional minds that complement the qualitative shift of the competition from outside the lines.
The players’ transfer revolution within the green rectangle began by Cristiano Ronaldo last January,
and was followed by a large number of first-row stars in the summer, most notably Neymar da Silva, Karim Benzema, Sadio Mane and Riyadh Mahrez.
Ibero-al-itthad Administration
On Saturday night, the al-itthad announced the arrival of Spain’s Ramon Plains to take over his duties as the club’s sporting director, after the club confirmed last Wednesday that they had signed him on an off-line deal from Real Betis.
Plains, 56, has considerable managerial experience, having held the same position in several clubs, headed by Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur, and served as Secretary-General of Parsa.
Barcelona made outstanding deals with the help of Plains, most notably Pedri, the current team star, while the Spanish athletic director was involved in Real Betis’ contract with Isco.
Plains was not the first foreign official to take up a position in the management of the al-itthad this season, but last September the dean’s administration announced the signing of Portuguese Domingos Suarez de Oliveira as the club’s chief executive.
Domingos Suárez, 64, is one of the most prominent CEOs, with over 30 years’ experience, working in Benfica, in a golden period for the Portuguese team, which saw him earn several titles.
Spanish experience in al-hilal
Last November, saudi Al-Hilal team announced his contract with Spain’s Steve Calzada to become chief executive of the leader starting in January instead of Abdullah al-Jarba ‘a.
Calzada has extensive experience in sports management, taking up the position of Director of Marketing and Commerce for Barcelona in 2002,
and also served as Commercial Director at City Football Group in 2019, where he worked regularly with Manchester City.
Calzada, 57, also worked with Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina, to found his company, which owned the player’s photo rights commercially in 2009.
Calzada is no stranger to the al-hilal, collaborating with the Blue Club on strategic consultancy projects in 2018.
Italian mind in al-nasr
Al-Nasr signed Italian Guido Venga to serve as the club’s executive director since September, instead of Ahmed al-Ghamdi.
AS Rome is the most prominent club Venga worked with before moving to victory.
The 53-year-old Italian official also experienced many experiences in the areas of finance, communications and media, as well as the work of Professor in entrepreneurship at Luis Guido Carly University in the Italian capital.
