Zinedine Zidane caused controversy by being ambassador for the organization of the 2022 World Cup which was taking place in Qatar, especially since the former number 10 of the France team had taken a large check for the occasion. And better, Zidane even reveals that he was approached to come and play in Qatar when he was a player…
The attribution of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar had caused scandal due to human rights violations linked to the deaths of thousands of migrant workers who had worked on the construction of the stadiums for the occasion. And yet, Zinedine Zidane had been one of the great ambassadors, receiving €11M to promote the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. In a 2011 interview for Time Out Dubai, Zidane spoke about this.
“I was offered to play in Qatar”
And the former player Real Madrid even revealed having been approached by the Qatar when he was still a player: “ The choice of Qatar? I was happy because it was a victory for the Middle East beyond Qatar. This is a good thing for a region where football has never been present before. When I was playing, I was offered to play in Qatar, but I declined the offer because I wanted to finish my career in Madrid. I had, however, suggested that I could help promote football there in the future », Confided Zinedine Zidane.
“It’s a lot of money, but…”
And a little later, in the columns of THE TEAM, Zidane confided in the fortune received for this role of ambassador of Qatar : « Yes, it’s a lot of money. But this money is redistributed by the Zidane Foundation. I didn’t do this for the money (…) I wanted to do this in relation to this project which is really interesting. Who really consulted it? People talk without knowing what’s in it. (…) People will answer me: ‘Qatar is very small…’ But through Qatar, it is this entire region of the Middle East that you touch and that is what is interesting “, he clarified.
