Can Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to the Saudi Arabian league affect LIV Golf?

LIV Golf was making a name for itself in its pursuit of changing the game of golf, but it may have hit a snag. For starters, they began poaching several top-tier golfers from the PGA Tour but have now been unable to do so for a long while.

Secondly, Cristiano Ronaldo joining Al-Nassr on a massive contract might not bode well for the league. One of the biggest issues with Saudi Arabian sports is the money- more importantly, where it comes from.

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LIV Golf suddenly running out of steam

It's no secret that LIV Golf had money to spend and threw it at golfers to get them to join. They even reportedly offered Tiger Woods nearly $1 billion to join.

Ronaldo, who couldn't get an offer from a Premier League team or anyone from a notable league, inked a $75 million per year deal. There's clearly a lot of money in Saudi Arabian sports, but the question of where it comes from persists.

Cristiano Ronaldo in the FIFA World Cup

LIV Golf once stood out for doing that, but now it seems that every Saudi Arabian sports league can and will do it. This will likely only continue in the future, which further pushes LIV into obscurity.

It's far less impressive that LIV managed to get Cameron Smith since a relatively obsolete club managed to land one of the best footballers of a generation. Suddenly, it's clear that there is no real reason to join other than money.

That doesn't make it any easier for LIV Golf to achieve its goals of disrupting the status quo.

That was always the case, though. It was obscured for a while, but most fans and golfers knew that Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others were only in it for the money.

Mickelson's cheap answer to Saudi Arabia's human rights violations proved it, as he said:

"They're scary motherf*****s to get involved with. We know they killed Khashoggi and have a horrible record on human rights. They execute people over there for being gay."

He gave the real reason why he joined:

"Knowing all of this, why would I even consider it? Because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates. They’ve been able to get by with manipulative, coercive, strong-arm tactics because we, the players, had no recourse."

However, Mickelson's admission that he was willing to overlook the gross human rights violations is telling. He has since apologized and said he doesn't condone the violations.

LIV Golf was well on its way to achieving its goal of disrupting the PGA Tour and changing the game of golf. It's evident with every day that they are at a crossroads and do not know where to go next.

They haven't secured a television deal, and are yet to convince the OWGR to count their results.

Furthermore, they are going to be able to play in the Masters, but there will apparently be protestors there against that.

They had steam in 2022 but heading into 2023, they're running out very quickly.