Terrance Williams/AP
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson called for the NFL to bring games to Saudi Arabia in a tweet that many believe he was paid to post.
In the Tuesday tweet, Watson revealed that he had just returned from a trip to Saudi Arabia. He bizarrely named six different Saudi soccer clubs and even tagged Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad in the tweet.
“I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society,” Watson said. “And I enjoyed watching Al-Nassar, Al-Al-Wali and Al-Hilal, Al-Zaim, and I heard a lot about the singing of Al-Ahly fans and Al-Ittihad.
“Special thanks to His Royal Highness Prince @Saudi49er for the hospitality and generosity. And God willing, we will see the [football] in Saudi Arabia soon. May peace be with you! @NFLARAB @ssc_sports.”
I had a nice time visiting Saudi Arabia and learned a lot about the original Saudi culture and society.
And I enjoyed watching Al-Nassar, Al-Al-Wali and Al-Hilal, Al-Zaim, and I heard a lot about the singing of Al-Ahly fans and Al-Ittihad.
Special thanks to His Royal Highness…
— Deshaun Watson (@deshaunwatson) April 23, 2024
Commenters were quick to claim it was a paid tweet.
Was 230m fully guaranteed not enough? https://t.co/Z1hd2JIMtZ
— John 14:6 (@Believe_John146) April 24, 2024
Deshaun Watson getting paid by the Kingdom to watch Cristiano Ronaldo and promote it all. There’s a lot of levels of grossness in this one. https://t.co/XgShq2i4fx
— Mike Pendleton (@phat7deuce) April 23, 2024
the Suadis have an agenda of using sports to whitewash their image, and apparently, they just bought Deshaun Watson https://t.co/8vW6gohMdi
— Shamhat&Enkidu (@3xOscarWinner) April 24, 2024
I did not have Saudi Arabia recruiting Deshaun Watson for sportswashing on my 2024 bingo card. https://t.co/3zrFL2jkjl
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) April 24, 2024
The assumption isn’t completely unfounded. When Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo signed with Saudi club Al-Nassr, it was reported his annual salary could reach $200 million through “commercial agreements.” That includes speaking positively about the country on social media.
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