Esteve Calzada, CEO of Al Hilal: "The Saudi offer to Vinicius? Sometimes there are truths, and other times they use us to better negotiate a renewal."

Saudi football is increasingly relying on Spanish talent, both on and off the field. A clear example is Esteve Calzada , who left Manchester City a couple of years ago to become CEO of Al Hilal, one of the biggest clubs in the country and on the continent. His team faces Real Madrid tonight, and the executive sits down with EL MUNDO in Miami to discuss the match, the transfer market, offers, Cristiano Ronaldo , and Vinicius .

You're coming off a tough three weeks, trying to make several signings and failing. How have you dealt with it?

Yes, it's been unusual. We had a number of objectives, but you're not going to commit them to two- or three-year contracts just thinking about the World Cup, which will last a few weeks. That's why we haven't signed anyone, just a couple of local players. But no international players, either, because it didn't happen, because they were already focused on their vacations, or because they were asking us for too much money. The team has a solid foundation that has yielded results, and then the summer transfer window will come, and we continue with the ambition to bring in good players.

But the World Cup, being important for you, you arrive without signings.

Yes, but we would have had a problem if players had left, because the team would have been weakened. You sign because you want to improve what you have. We've been offered countless players, and many wanted to come, but if your first and second choices haven't worked out, you're not going to go to the fifth because you already have a good team.

They debut against Madrid.

The goal is to compete, and we're really looking forward to playing these matches to really see what our level is. Because we're from a different continent, we don't get to play against big teams very often. We already gave it our all a couple of years ago when we faced Real Madrid in the World Cup, and we're excited.

Vinicius was said to have an offer from Saudi Arabia.

That's what people say. I think it's an urban legend. Ultimately, it's something that's happening to us a lot. Sometimes things are true, and sometimes they use us—my team and the league in general—to better negotiate a renewal or to seek a better contract by creating competition with the team that wants you. They put us in every pool. I can tell you that in the case of Al Hilal, there's never been anything with Vinicius, much less with the figures that have been reported in the media.

"We're looking for players in their prime , under 30 years old, and with stable families."

The big change has been the coach, with the arrival of Simone Inzaghi, a Champions League finalist with Inter Milan.

The president fought to convince him, and we're delighted. He didn't win the final, but he's one of the best in the world. When we showed interest in him, he asked us to talk again after the final because he was focused on that, and in the end, the deal was signed. It shows the project's ambition.

There were many rumors about Cristiano Ronaldo's possible signing for Al Hilal just for the Club World Cup. Were they true?

They didn't make sense. Just so people understand, Al Hilal and Al-Nassr, the two Riyadh teams, are Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, and Al Ittihad (where Benzema is, in Jeddah) would be Barcelona. Al-Nassr is our eternal rival; we couldn't take them anywhere. We'll never consider it.

Is the next step to continue acquiring world-class players?

Sure. There's that ambition to bring in players of the same profile as we did. Sometimes we get interested in bringing in players who are thinking about retiring, but it doesn't work that way anymore. We look for players in their prime , under 30 years old and with stable families.

There was bad luck with Neymar due to injury, but on a commercial level it was a success.

Yes, he's had that impact on the fans, but you bring him in to perform on the field. If you then have marketing appeal, great, but the injury was a shame.

Regarding player offers, has there been a change in Saudi Arabia? Initially, it was exorbitant spending, but now it's more sensible, and at the same time, there's more interest from players and teams in negotiating with the country's teams than from your own intentions.

Of course. There are still a lot of people who don't understand. They tell you, 'Hey, player X would be willing to go, that he's going to make an effort.' No, it doesn't work like that anymore. We choose the players we want. That's changing. In our case, there was always a very clear policy about what kind of players we wanted. It wasn't about bringing in talent for the sake of it. They're well-chosen players, not at any price. And the result worked. Mitrovic, Rubén Neves, Milinkovic-Savic, Bono, Cancelo... It's a powerful team built with intelligence.

"We're not going to be Real Madrid or Barça, but we want to connect with young audiences through our players."

Without overpaying.

Until now, the career of a good player was Europe, playing in the Champions League, and trying to win it. This deviates a bit from the traditional, and we can't forget that money plays an important role, in this case due to the country's tax system, which doesn't have the taxes found elsewhere and allows us to be more competitive. We negotiate in net amounts; that's the advantage.

How did you end up at Al Hilal?

I'd been at Manchester City for 12 years, the last stint as head of sales, and they came to recruit me from the most important club in Arabia and Asia. It was an exciting adventure. I was struck by the passion of the people, reaching unimaginable heights. To give you an idea, people stop me and ask for photos on the street. That's not common in Spain and Europe. You ask the players or the coach for photos, but not the CEO. Al Hilal is like the Real Madrid of Arabia; we have to fight for every title, and we want to be known internationally. We're not going to be Real Madrid or Barça, but we want to connect with young audiences through our players. Proof of that is the arrival of Neymar, when we experienced tremendous growth.

And the country has a plan behind it.

One that will culminate with the 2034 World Cup, so it will continue in this way. Bringing these players was a government program, but not all of those who come are paid for by that program. We have our own capacity.

How does the league work on a budgetary level?

The government program is channeled through the league and provides players for a total amount. There's no exact amount. Each team presents its ideas, its players, and the league has its sports department that helps the smaller teams. We benefit from government support, and we complement it with our own revenue-generating capacity and significant donations. In our case, we have Prince Al-Waleed, who is one of the club's benefactors and decisively influences signings and financial contributions.