Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is partaking in the nation’s football fever. Overjoyed with Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal becoming the first club from the Middle East country ever to reach the final of the Club World Cup, the royal decided to make things more rewarding for the Al-Hilal players. He announced a generous award of $266,500 (one million riyals) to each player from Al Hilal for the 3-2 win over South American champions Flamengo that qualified them for the Club World Cup final. The players are already in a winning position as, in addition to the bonus mentioned, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will gladly shell out another massive fee if they bag the trophy against accomplished challengers Real Madrid.
Joining the generosity of the chairman of the Kingdom Holding Co, Prince Alwaleed, is the country’s minister of sports, Prince Abdulaziz al-Faisal, who is bestowing Al-Hilal players with a gift of 500,000 riyals ($133,500) for the Flamengo win. He stated,”The win is a tangible confirmation of the great distinction that Saudi sports has experienced recently.” Al Hilal Saudi Football Club coach expressed, “We are all happy because Al-Hilal is the largest club in Saudi Arabia, and we are proud to represent it and of the successes that we are achieving. Perhaps they were surprised by the players’ skills and our way of playing,” he said.
He continued, “In the first half, they only created one attack, which was a very intense tactical match. Vietto was the playmaker and excelled at perpetrating the opposition team. He is developing a lot and is very important to us. We saw a strong team that could not reach our goal often, and this is evidence of the quality of our team’s tactics and players. We were playing one against one instead of three against three, and we played a great match and dominated for the majority of its course.”
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is the grandson of the first king of Saudi Arabia-
The 67-year-old, U.S.-educated Arabian royal was once worth a whopping $39.8 billion. His current net worth is nearly $19 billion, owing to chunks of private and public companies in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle East. The billionaire owns stakes in Twitter, Lyft, and Citigroup. The list includes iconic hotels like the Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Hotel George V in Paris, the Savoy Hotel in London, and the Plaza in New York. His magnificent abode, a 435-room palace, puts these hotels to shame. Prince Alwaleed owns three sprawling palaces, with his primary residence in central Riyadh.
The extravagant $130 million sand-colored Kingdom Palace is decked with 1,500 tons of Italian marble and 250 TVs. It may sound unbelievable, but the palace kitchens are equipped to stir up delicious meals in a mere hour for a whopping 2,000 people. A third, under-construction palace dubbed Kingdom Oasis surpasses every set standard of luxury with a 17-acre lake and a private zoo. Among his many luxurious possessions, the one that stands out is one of the biggest yachts in the world, the 282 ft, $500 million Kingdom 5KR. Prince Alwaleed had a falling out with his cousin, Crown Prince MBS, in 2017, who had him arrested on corruption charges and grabbed $2 billion worth of his assets in the Middle East.
