"Players are wanted for the third division of Saudi Arabia. Salary: from 3000 to 4000 euros plus the house". Thus begins one of the strangest offers in a new market that has turned the beautiful sport upside down.
Saudi Arabia's entry into the world of football, accompanied by a stratospheric investment of money, aims to upend the established order as they attempt to bring their football on par with the world's five major powers.
Although initially the objective was to capture good players who were ending their contracts and were in the twilight of their careers, the offer that shook the foundations of 'FutbolJobs' has served to change course: the Saudis' aim is to remodel the entire structure of their football system and create a base with European players.
The Arab country shows once again that money is the main motivator in attracting footballers... but its sights would no longer be just on big names.
Thus, the newspaper Brand talked with Valentin Botella Nicolas, director of SoccerJobs, to better analyze Saudi Arabia's entry into the world of football thanks to a platform they created in 2013 to directly connect different users in the world of football.
"For several months we have received a large number of offers coming from Saudi Arabia, of all categories and levels," he begins the story before talking about the offer that changed everything.
"It was an offer we made in June and it went viral a few weeks later. The truth is that the feedback we had was overwhelming. You can count thousands of interactions every day, with email, social networks and WhatsApp asking for information about this."
"The offer is concrete. At that moment, we understood that this market was already a reality and football people verified that the demand was not only for big stars", said Valentin Botella Nicolas.
The offer, which was classified as urgent on the platform, was set at between 3000 and 4000 euros plus the amount of a house to live in, a fixed expense borne by the club.
In addition, they specify the departments on the field of play that are most in demand: striker, left winger, right winger, creative midfielder, defensive midfielder and center back. Goalkeepers are excluded from this proposal.
And to evaluate the offer, we must consider that in the third division in Spanish football, the minimum salary is 35.000 euros, which would not reach 3.000 per month (2.916 euros/month to be exact) divided into 12 months of the year.
This figure is what a footballer who plays for a team that earns more than 500,000 euros for television rights would earn. So in reality the numbers are much smaller.
"It is important to emphasize that we are not representatives, nor do we charge for the transaction or signature. Our income comes from our subscribers, more than 3000 worldwide."
"We don't move players, we only offer a platform for footballers, physiotherapists. ...regardless of whether you have a representative or not, you can meet and interact with clubs that need to cover a certain profile," adds Nicolas.
Thus, the platform also 'owns' the dream job offer "Five million to train in Arabia", which ended up becoming the largest offer made to FutbolJobs in the 10 years of its existence.
5 million for an entire coaching staff that ended up flying and as soon as they managed to find the required profile... the connection disappeared. And one of the essential requirements is to be a free player/coach and be ready to join immediately. /Telegraph/
