– I spend much more here than I would anywhere else. I won’t hide it. That was the deciding factor. That’s what Al Fateh’s Swedish goalkeeper Jacob Rinne says to SVT in a documentary series about football in Saudi Arabia. – Why should I, on an individual level, say no to something that can change me and my family’s financial future? It can actually change our whole life, says Rinne in the SVT documentary, without revealing the annual salary. Rinne played five seasons in Danish Aalborg before going to Saudi Arabia and Al Fateh in the summer of 2022. STEADY: Jacob Rinne played 162 games in five seasons in Danish Aalborg BK. Photo: SOCCER PICTURES He was part of the Swedish U21 national team that won EC gold, but has only been part of one Swedish A-team squad during his career. – I am here and work on the same level as everyone else who does a job. I play football, but why shouldn’t one question those who come here and have “ordinary” jobs? They are also here because they earn much more here than they did in Europe, says Rinne. He also believes that companies deserve their share of critical questions, if the footballers are constantly going to get it. – We went to Ikea here. Why shouldn’t Ikea take responsibility and not have premises in Saudi Arabia? I will suddenly take responsibility and people will think a lot about it. It’s a shame that you think and feel about things you shouldn’t take care of yourself, says Rinne. news has submitted Rinne’s statements for Ikea, but they do not want to comment on his statements directly. Instead, they write that they only do business that is in line with Ikea’s culture, values and ethical guidelines. They are obliged to follow human rights in all areas of their business, which they assure that everyone in Ikea’s value chain does. – Does not see any human rights violations Rinne went to Saudi Arabia a year before a whole series of stars chose to leave their European clubs in favor of Saudi Arabia and their big investment. The state oil fund (PIF) entered the ownership side of four of the top clubs in the Saudi Pro League and injected huge sums, so that the clubs could bring in big names from Europe. In total, the league will have spent just under NOK 11 billion on transfer fees in 2023. ATTRACT: Cristiano Ronaldo already went to Saudi Arabia in January 2023, since many stars have followed. Photo: AHMED YOSRI / Reuters When Rinne signed, he had not expected such a development of football in the country. – The way it is here now, you don’t just play for the money. Now it’s an attractive league and it’s cool to be here playing football. The climate is good and everything around is good for us, he says. He says there is a big difference in the league now compared to the first season he played, in 2022/23. – It is better now. Significantly better. The tops are very high here and you get to play against very good opposition. The biggest stars are rumored to have salaries that are much greater than the already good salary they received in Europe. According to the AFP news agency, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others, is worth close to 4.2 billion euros on his two-year contract with Al-Nassr. The venture has been strongly criticized by many, who believe that the whole thing is part of a sports laundering project, where football is used to hide the human rights violation of the state. – This human rights violation is not something I see. These are only things I have heard or read about in the media. I don’t know what’s true and what’s not, and I’m not going to sit and deny anything, but that’s the way it is, says Rinne. The Crown Prince: – I don’t care According to the Crown Prince of the country, Mohammed Bin Salman, it is all part of the “Vision 2030” project. In short, it is about the country becoming less dependent on its oil revenues in the future, and rather modernizing the country and investing more in sports and tourism. They want to become a major player in several areas, and football is among them. When Bin Salman did a rare TV interview last autumn, he replied as follows about the sports laundering debts to Fox News: – I don’t care. If sports washing is going to increase our GDP by one percent, then we will continue sports washing. I have one percent growth in GDP from sport and I aim for another 1.5 percent, said Bin Salman and continued: – Call it what you want – we will get the 1.5 percent. POWERFUL: Mohammed Bin Salman is both crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia. Photo: Reuters – 99.9 per cent think you should only drive on Rinne says this was something he thought about when he got the offer, but that it was not decisive for the choice he made. – I think that I myself do not play such a big role in this “sports washing project”, if that is what it is. I think you have to go a little higher up the food chain to get any effect from it. And he is probably not the only one who does not care about the sports washing debts. – 99.9 percent of the footballers I have spoken to about this do not think it is anything to think about. They think you should just drive on. I have not met anyone who thinks otherwise. The journalist behind SVT’s documentary, Daniel Grefve, praises Rinne for his openness and honesty in meeting with the channel. – It’s cool when footballers are as open as he is, because there are plenty of examples of footballers who aren’t. Many just say that they are there to influence where it happens, or that they want to develop football in Saudi Arabia, says Grefve. Grevfe says he does not know exactly what Rinne earns in Al Fateh, but assumes that it is not a question of petty cash. – He was one of Denmark’s best goalkeepers when he played there, but I’m guessing he earns ten times as much as he would in Europe. Although Rinne and a whole bunch of others have wrecked Europe in favor of Saudi Arabia, the goalkeeper does not think it will affect European football too much in the future. – I think those who grow up today with a dream of becoming a football professional still dream of playing in Europe, not Saudi Arabia, says Rinne.
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