Less than a year after signing with Paris Saint-Germain – one of Qatar’s most prominent sportswashing projects – Lionel Messi is now the face of yet another oppressive Middle Eastern monarchy.
The Argentinian was unveiled as the latest tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia during a trip to Jeddah, a port city along the Red Sea, on Monday.
“This is not his first visit to the kingdom and it will not be the last,” said Ahmed al-Khateeb, the kingdom’s minister of tourism, in a tweet with images of Messi being welcomed at king Abdulaziz International Airport.
Messi, who was accompanied by his Argentina and PSG teammate Leandro Paredes, later posted a picture of himself relaxing on a yacht while watching the sunset. “Discovering the Red Sea #VisitSaudi,” read the caption on the post, which was marked as a “paid partnership” with Visit Saudi, a subsidiary of the Saudi Tourism Authority.
Messi was later accompanied by princess Haifa Al-Saud, assistant minister of tourism, as they toured various par …
- May 13, 2022
