ESteve Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal, gave, on Friday night, an extensive interview on the Egyptian television station’s ‘Super League’ program On Sportin which, among other topics, he was asked about Cristiano Ronaldo’s dissatisfaction with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Remember that the Portuguese striker missed Al Nassr’s last two games because he was unhappy with the management that PIF, which controls Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, has done in recent times, even accusing the organization of benefiting Al Hilal to the detriment of Al Nassr.
Esteve Calzada admits he doesn’t know “exactly what happened” and also spoke about the signing of Karim Benzema by Al Hilal, a player who terminated his contract with rival Al-Ittihad, where he was coached by the Portuguese Sérgio Conceição.
“I don’t know exactly what happened between Cristiano Ronaldo and Al Nassr. The media spread a lot of rumors and gossip. As CEO, I was very eager to have Benzema with us. We evaluated the opportunities from both a commercial and technical point of view. From the first hours after his signing, we achieved significant sales and he started scoring goals from the first match”, he began by saying.
“In football, the club president and management are always looking for opportunities. Benzema was a great opportunity, and Al Hilal, being the biggest club, should aim to sign the best players in the world. A few years ago, the Saudi government made the strategic decision to invest in the best talent. With significant funding and the growing strength of the Saudi league, it has become attractive to elite players and a great place to live and play football,” he added.
Esteve Calzada also analyzed André Silva’s recent contract renewal with Al Hilal, at a time when the Portuguese midfielder was tipped to return to European football.
“We are very happy to extend the contracts of our most important players, especially Rúben, due to his contributions on the field. His leadership is also greatly appreciated by the fans and we must consider ourselves lucky to have been able to reach this agreement. His renewal is important because he is a very sought-after player. He received several offers from Europe, we wanted him to remain in the team and we are happy for him to stay”, he highlighted.
“The Saudi league is highly competitive. Players here can still represent their national teams due to the strength of the league. That is why we must continue to attract the best players in the world. Al Hilal has high quality players. We feel very comfortable with the squad we have. We are able to bring in the best talent and compete at the highest level with an excellent mix of experienced and exceptional players,” he concluded.
date:2026-02-07 23:21:00
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