SEOUL (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Karim Benzema have won a combined total of 11
UEFA Champions League titles 🍊 and, starting Monday, they lead the Saudi Arabian
challenge in the Asian edition.
Neymar, who last week surpassed Pele’s international
goal 🍊 tally for Brazil, arrived at Al-Hilal in August and made his league debut on
Friday as the four-time Asian champion 🍊 thrashed Abha 6-1. Hilal lost the final to Urawa
Reds of Japan last May.
Since then, Saudi Arabian clubs have spent 🍊 aroundR$950 million
on some of the biggest stars in the world. The spending is being fueled by a move by
🍊 the kingdom’s sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund to take a majority ownership
stake in four of the country’s top clubs, 🍊 Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and
Al-Nassr.
As well as Neymar, Al-Hilal has signed English Premier League stars Ruben
Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly and 🍊 Aleksandar Mitrovic as well as Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine
Bounou, Brazilian winger Malcom and Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Mumbai
City has been 🍊 placed in the same group and the Indians are looking forward to a chance
to take on Hilal and especially 🍊 its Brazilian superstar.
“I think anyone that’s seen
the movement in some of these teams, and Neymar being the latest to 🍊 arrive there, it’s
exciting,” Mumbai’s coach Des Buckingham said. “They’re bringing that caliber and
quality of player to India, which 🍊 is going to be extremely exciting for us and for our
club but also for the fans of India.”
In total, 🍊 there are four Saudi Arabian
representatives among the 40 in the group stage with the ten group winners and the
🍊 six-best second -placed teams progressing to the second round.
After years of games
between Saudi Arabia and Iran being played in 🍊 neutral venues, Ronaldo will lead
Al-Nassr to Tehran on Tuesday to take on Persepolis. The visitor has never lifted the
🍊 Asian trophy.
Persepolis president Reza Darvish told local television earlier this
month that Al-Nassr will be provided with full access to 🍊 the internet, unlike the
general public in the country.
“I have spoken with the CEO of Irancell, and I told him
🍊 we want to give players and personnel Irancell SIM cards with unrestricted internet so
they can use it from the 🍊 time they enter Iran till the time they leave,” Darvish
said.
Al-Ittihad is Saudi Arabian champion and, as well as Benzema, 🍊 has brought in past
European winners such as N’Golo Kante from Chelsea and Fabinho from Liverpool. The
two-time Asian champion 🍊 starts against AGMK of Uzbekistan in Jeddah.
Al-Fayha completes
the Saudi quartet but is not owned, like the other three, by 🍊 the Public Investment Fund
and does not have the same star power. The team starts with a tough trip to 🍊 Uzbekistan
to take on Pakhtakor.
The tournament is not all about the Saudi Arabian teams as it is
split into geographic 🍊 zones until the final, ensuring a representative from the eastern
half of the continent next May.
Japan’s Urawa Reds is the 🍊 current champion and Ulsan
Hyundai Horang-i of South Korea lifted the trophy in 2024.
“We know that Saudi Arabian
teams will 🍊 provide strong opposition but the standard is rising all across Asia,” Ulsan
coach Hong Myong-bo said. “We have to focus 🍊 first on doing as well as we can .”
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AP
soccer: //apnews/hub/soccer
