Cristiano Ronaldo has just one thing on his mind right now — winning Euro 2024 — but even the hyper-focused, 39-year-old soccer megastar won’t have failed to notice a tournament subplot that he’s at the very center of.
There are 14 players participating in the Euros who ply their club trade in the Saudi Pro League, having been lured by the whopping sums offered as the Middle East nation tries to rapidly build its domestic competition into one of the world’s best.
Ronaldo is the headliner, just like he always is, and how effectively he and the other members of the Saudi export collective perform over the coming weeks is a de facto referendum that could have a seismic impact on what happens next in global soccer.
It is easy to sniff at the Saudi league and dismiss it as a minor operation when…
