Stuart Broad had the right idea.

The legendary England cricketer ended his playing days by hitting a six off his final ball with the bat and taking a wicket from his final delivery with the ball to win a match. Against Australia, his country’s most historic rivals, no less.

But he is the exception, not the rule. Thousands of professional sportsmen and women retire every year in circumstances far less celebrated and completely out of their control. But there are some controllables, right? Like bowing out at the top? Growing old gracefully? Or even just retaining your dignity?

There is another way — let’s call it the Cristiano Ronaldo way.

This way involves moving to a retirement league for a humungous payday and playing with and against vastly inferior opponents in a league where 14 of the 18 clubs have an average attendance of fewer than 9,000.

OK, fine, who is realistically going to turn down a reported £173million-a-year salary and king-like status? But there is still a way of behaving in a sophisticated, cultured manner while pocketing said cash.

All of which begs the question: Cristiano Ronaldo, what are you doing?

During Al Nassr’s Saudi Super Cup semi-final…

The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) has officially launched its bid campaign to host the men’s World Cup in 2034.

Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the sole candidate to host the tournament in October, after Australia decided not to bid.

SAFF has now begun its campaign which includes the unveiling of its bid logo and official website.

Under the slogan “Growing. Together”, SAFF says its bid seeks to highlight the parallel between Saudi Arabia’s rapid development and the transformative potential of hosting the World Cup while the logo is made up of intertwined rows of multi-coloured ribbons, displaying football and cultural symbols.

Much like 2022 host Qatar, Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has come under intense scrutiny as has the country’s treatment of women and its view on same-sex relationships.

Mass executions, for a variety of crimes, are still common and critics of the government face house arrest, imprisonment and even torture while the conditions the vast migrant worker population live and work in have been heavily criticised as they were in Qatar.

Human Rights Watch’s director of global initiatives, Minky Worden, said in October: “With Saudi Arabia’s…

Barring another last-minute pivot, the women’s professional tennis tour is preparing to announce that the season-ending WTA Tour Finals will take place in Saudi Arabia, marking the latest step in the country’s huge investment in elite sport.

WTA Tour chief executive Steve Simon has been holding talks with Saudi officials for the past year and if a deal is agreed, the 2024 finals will take place there at the end of the season, according to several of the sport’s top officials. The WTA has been here before, though, as recently as last summer, when it was close to a deal with Saudi Arabia but pivoted at the last minute amid public pressure.

In a statement on Thursday, a WTA spokesperson said the process is ongoing, with the intention of a final decision and announcement later this month.

“As everyone knows, we are working through a process to select a host venue for the WTA Finals,” they said. “There has been no final decision and we will continue to engage with players through the ongoing process.”

The Athletic has contacted Saudi representatives for comment.

One top tennis official, who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak for the WTA, called the potential deal with Saudi Arabia “the worst kept secret in the sport.” The WTA is said to…

So that’s that then. Roll up, roll up, for the Saudi Arabia World Cup. It might not be what you wanted but, hey, whether you like it or not is almost irrelevant at this stage. It is happening, it is unshakeable, and it is futile to think anything can be done about it.

Welcome to the future. Or, maybe, welcome to the new norm, given everything we have learned over the past few years about Saudi Arabia’s desire to reinvent itself as the most lucrative, tills-ringing, all-dancing place to play football on the planet.

You can be disappointed, exasperated, angry even, but nobody should be too surprised by the announcement from FIFA that, with Australia pulling out, the 2034 competition will go to Saudi Arabia as the only bidders.

Already, Saudi Arabia has lined up the FIFA Club World Cup in December, the Spanish, Italian and Turkish Super Cups next year, as well as bidding for the 2035 Women’s World Cup. And that’s just a small part of it.

Add to that the multitude of “Riyadh Season” events, the world championship boxing, the UFC events, Formula One races, WWE nights, the Equestrian World Cup and some rather mind-boggling plans,…

The women playing on the small field knew they were taking a risk.

Former Jeddah Eagles Ladies player Massilia Kheddouci was among that group. At that time, four years ago, there was no such thing as a ‘women’s football scene’ in Saudi Arabia.

Kheddouci was born and raised in London before moving to Dubai for work in her twenties. On business trips to Saudi, she experienced gender segregation that was a way of life for those in that country. “You’d go to restaurants, cafes — anywhere — and there were two entrances: a family entrance and a single male entrance.”

When her boss floated the idea of her moving to Saudi permanently in 2019, Kheddouci initially resisted.

“I didn’t want to go,” she says. “I tried to go against it so much. I told my boss, ‘Please don’t move me there.’ Then I came and saw a whole other life that was not portrayed in the media. You probably don’t see 80 per cent of what is here in Saudi. When I first came, you’d have thought there are no human rights, a woman cannot walk next to a man, you can’t be in mixed groups and you’ve got to enter different places segregated. Now,…

The Saudi Pro League (SPL) is set to appoint Michael Emenalo as its first director of football.

Amid a massive drive to sign big-name players and managers, this move provides yet another indication of the competition’s ambition — plus a commitment not only to secure elite on-pitch talent but leading off-field personnel too.

Emenalo occupied a similar role at Chelsea between 2011-2017, overseeing a hugely successful period across the men’s, women’s and academy sides at the west London club.

The former Nigeria international left-back was also heavily involved in transfer activity, with the likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah and N’Golo Kante recruited during his Stamford Bridge tenure.

Emenalo went on to spend two years as sporting director for AS Monaco and has since remained active in consultancy capacities.

He is regarded among the best in his field and will be responsible for helping the SPL develop frameworks and applying the kind of principles that are seen in the world’s biggest divisions.

Emenalo is expected to bring a staff with him — tapping into the expertise, experience and connections of people he has worked with before — and add others to bolster the set-up.

It is anticipated the 57-year-old will also keep a close eye on the future by…