UEFA Chair Ceferin dismisses Champions League in Saudi possibility
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin gestures during the SPOBIS Conference, Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 31, 2024. (Getty Images Photo)


Aleksander Ceferin, the president of UEFA, the European football governing body, emphasized that there will not be a Champions League final held in Saudi Arabia during his tenure.

Speaking at the Spobis Sports Business Congress in Hamburg, Ceferin stated, "Not during my term, but I won't be here forever."

It is worth noting that the Spanish and Italian federations have recently hosted their Super Cup finals in Saudi Arabia.

The country has recently invested billions in sports. In football, the Saudi Pro League signed several top stars, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, for exorbitant sums.

The 2034 World Cup is set to take place in Saudi Arabia, and the country will also host a Formula One race.

Meanwhile, Ceferin doesn't consider Saudi Arabia a danger to European football. He believes that signing football's top stars is not the right strategy.

"If you mainly buy players who can no longer play in Europe and overpay them, are you developing your young players?" he said.

"European fans do two things: they follow their team and their national team. And they follow competitions. They don't follow the players," Ceferin added.

Saudi Arabia is the sole candidate to host the 2034 World Cup and is set to win the bid because of football governing body FIFA's rotation policy, meaning only nations from Asia and Oceania are eligible to host the tournament that year.