Among all the megalomaniac delusions with which Saudi Arabia aims to change its image abroad, Neom stands out, an immense urban project in the Tabuk province, in the northwest of the country. Since 2018, the royal family has been promoting this futuristic utopia, which includes The Line, a city formed by a single row of skyscrapers, 170 km long, 500 meters high, and 200 meters wide, designed for nine million inhabitants.
Less known, however, are the plans of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman regarding Neom SC, a recently promoted modest club in the Saudi first division. Amid much secrecy, British journalist James Montague has traveled to the area to assess its progress, documented in Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport (Bonnier Books, 2025), a book that will be available in our country by the end of the year. Before that, EL MUNDO has spoken with the author to shed some light on Neom SC, the team that is already competing with Real Madrid, Manchester City, or PSG to become the richest in the world.
"Access is very complicated, and it seems impossible to reach there, but of course, it can be done. There are open hotels and resorts, although completely empty, so at the moment, it is very difficult to understand its true scale," begins Montague about the works on The Line, which in recent months have experienced a slowdown due to their exorbitant costs.
From the initially budgeted $500 billion, the figure has quadrupled. Everything seems insufficient for the jewel of Vision 2030, the plan with which Bin Salman aims to diversify the economy and reduce its dependence on oil. And in that frenetic display of soft power, football plays an essential role.
On December 11, FIFA designated Saudi Arabia as the sole host of the 2034 World Cup. The greatest triumph, in terms of image, of an autocratic regime that had already invested huge sums in the LIV golf circuit, Formula 1, or boxing and mixed martial arts events. Through its sovereign fund (FIP), the Saudi monarchy did not hesitate to buy Newcastle, the recent champion of the English League Cup, or to incorporate Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, or Neymar, stars of the Saudi Pro League (the Brazilian is no longer there).
What has happened more discreetly is their bet on Neom SC. Following the Red Bull model in Leipzig or Salzburg, the royal family searched for a humble team in the small city of Tabuk, took the reins to rebuild it, and use it as a promotional vehicle. Last January, they added Algerian forward Saïd Benrahma, from Olympique Lyon, as a complement to the signings of Salman Al-Faraj, captain of the Saudi national team, and Egyptian Ahmed Hegazi, formerly of West Brom.
The short-term priority was to include the club among the top four in the country (Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr, both from Riyadh, plus Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli, in Jeddah). "I would be surprised if next season Neom SC does not incorporate other big names, maybe even some of the most important ones," predicts Montague, for whom the long-term goal will be "to win the FIFA Club World Cup."
Just a month ago, Sky Sports reported Neom's interest in Kevin de Bruyne, a veteran looking for new horizons after 10 years at Manchester City. Other recent rumors point to Jorginho, who is not in Mikel Arteta's plans at Arsenal, and André Onana, the Manchester United goalkeeper. If these operations materialize, they would need to pass through the filter of the renowned committee that regulates transfers in Saudi Arabia. "In this way, they ensure competitive balance and prevent one team from dominating everything," explains Montague. Needless to say, the final decision-making authority would lie with the Crown Prince.
"Bin Salman has personally gotten involved and has high expectations for Neom. The fact that the World Cup will also be held there demonstrates the importance of the sports project. In light of all this, it seems clear that Neom is too big to fail," adds the journalist, referring to the turbulence that surfaced last November after the departure of CEO Nadhmi al-Nasr.
According to an internal audit accessed by The New York Times, the lack of labor and electricity problems are causing multiple delays and cost overruns. However, Montague sees no reason to fear a contagion effect on football: "Neom has not collapsed. What is happening is that it all started with excessive ambition."
On the other hand, the author of Engulfed prefers to focus on the futuristic Neom stadium, projected at 350 meters high - something like the Empire State Building - and nestled between gigantic glass walls on the shores of the Red Sea. "They have shortened the deadlines and their aspirations. The initial 170 km of The Line will be reduced to just two, where they will build the World Cup venue," he analyzes about this colossal engineering work, powered by renewable energy. "Although they operate quite secretly, we can tell that something huge is happening by the large number of Asian workers going there and the enormous amount of steel being sent, a whopping 20% of global production," he concludes.