麻豆社

On June 8, Karim Benzema got up on stage and was presented by his new football club, Al Ittihad of Jeddah. He will be paid a reported quarter of a billion pounds for coming to play in Saudi Arabia.

Last season, Cristiano Ronaldo also joined the Saudi Pro League, for another eye-watering sum.

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are slowly buying up sport around the world. Sports writer James Montague explains: what's in it for them?

"Since the mid 2000s, Gulf states have sunk hundreds of billions of pounds into sports. The UAE and Qatar have led the charge," he says.

"Those investments have helped to make both countries household names, a sort of fast-track nation-building through sport, whilst at the same time using this soft power to minimise the very real human rights concerns around two countries. The phrase sports-washing is often used, but I prefer reputation laundering."

(Photo: A ceremony is held for the French football player Karim Benzema at King Abdullah Stadium. Credit Getty Images)

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