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5PM — Christiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr FC after his disgraceful exit from Manchester United in December, reportedly making about 215 million US dollar. Per year. Last week Karim Benzema followed Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Ittihad for about 107 million US dollar. Per year. Saudi Arabia’s rulers parked the money truck outside these player’s homes to win them over with significant contributions to their retirement fund. And Lionel Messi at least considered a move to Saudi Arabia before he decided to join the football powerhouse Inter Miami.

Football players signing one last big contract at the end of their career isn’t a new thing. In the past, they would join a club in their home country, maybe even their childhood club. Maybe they’d go for a last adventure and play away from home for two years. Today, it seems, ageing stars pick the obscurest leagues to ease themselves into retirement. The US was always a destination big names towards the end of their career. Remember Pele and Beckenbauer, Beckham and Henry? For a couple of years it was China. Now it’s Saudi Arabia.

There are different reasons why humans change their jobs. Sometimes they don’t get along with colleagues or their manager. Sometimes they are looking for a new challenge. Ronaldo has won league titles in Portugal, England, Spain and Italy; he won the Champions League five times and the EURO in 2016. Benzema won the French and Spanish league several times and is a five-time Champions league winner. Messi won the league in Spain and France, the Champions League four times, the Copa América and the World Cup. I left out domestic and international cup trophies for each of them because there are too many to count. All of these players have won everything. As a young boy you dream of lifting one of these trophies once. They did it repeatedly. They have nothing more to prove. Not to themselves. Not to anyone else. I find it hard to believe that the Saudi Pro League or the MLS are appropriate challenges for players of this caliber. It might add another trophy or two to these already ridiculously long lists of silverware, but for the perception of these players it will do nothing. These leagues are far too inferior and are off people’s radar in most parts of the world.

There are different reasons why humans decide to work and live in another country. Sometimes they move for economic reasons or because they are being harassed because of their religion or sexuality; hoping to to live a better life in a different place. This is a valid reason for much of the world’s population but not for insanely rich top-tier football players. Sometimes humans move because they want to live in a different country, meet new people and experience a different culture. That, too, is a valid reason for many. I’ve lived amongst expats for years, people who “love to travel;” these people want to live in places like the US, Canada, Australia, South America, maybe south-east Asia. But nobody ever said “I’m dying to live in Saudi Arabia.” I find it hard to believe that Ronaldo and Benzema moved to Saudi Arabia for the cultural experience.

Andrew Das and Rory Smith argue that Messi made his choice with an eye on the next World Cup:

But a base in the United States would also have appealed to him for competitive reasons, potentially making it easier for Messi as he prepares to help Argentina defend its World Cup title in 2026.

Wouldn’t Argentina be the more obvious choice for this, let alone the more honest, gosh, more romantic option? Imagine he’d go back to where it all started?

The money seems like an odd motivation for someone who already has so much that their children won’t ever have to work. I mean real work, not running a charity or something. But the money seems to be the driving force behind these moves. After years at the top of the game, Ronaldo, Benzema, and Messi (and others) no longer play for the love of the game. They play for the money, the fame, and Instagram followers. It’s sad, but it perfectly fits in a world where World Cups are not tournaments anymore; they are events that FIFA milks to enrich their leadership. Clubs are now enterprises that have a brand strategy for China but little relation to the neighbourhoods where they originated from. These players are a product of their environment.