Zinedine Zidane helped Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup. But he didn’t do it for the money!
“After studying Qatar’s project, I wanted to do it and I will tell you why. But first off all I want to touch upon something: money,” the former French star told the Associated Press. “Ten, 11, 12, 13 million euros was mentioned. I will say it clearly: that’s a load of rubbish. It wasn’t even a third of these sums.”
The money he received – and he admits it was “a lot” – went to his charitable foundation.
Advertisement
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, former Netherlands defender Ronald de Boer and Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola also took cash in exchange for backing the bid.
But it wasn’t for the money!