Tijjani Reijnders: 'I notice little of the fact that women have no say in Saudi Arabia'

Tijjani Reijnders has spoken to Algemeen Dagblad about his transfer from Manchester City to Saudi Arabia. Sjoerd Mossou asked him, among other things, about the position of women in the country.

Last summer, the 28-year-old Reijnders completed a €50 million move from Manchester City to Al-Qadsiah. He has made an excellent start to the season in Saudi Arabia.

The midfielder has already scored three times in six competitive matches for the club. Al-Qadsiah sit fourth with 16 points from seven games in the Saudi Pro League.

While Reijnders says he is enjoying himself, he does not plan to stay in Saudi Arabia forever. "My ambition is still to have some great years on the European pitches later on."

Earlier, the Zwolle-born player admitted his decision to join Al-Qadsiah was driven mainly by the financial package. "I can set up my grandchildren well. I didn’t want to let that opportunity pass me by," he repeated to AD. "We can play the moral crusader, but you don’t say ‘no’ to these amounts."

Mossou also asked Reijnders about the standard of the Saudi Pro League. "Higher than the Eredivisie. Slightly lower than Serie A. People in the Netherlands won’t like that, but that’s how I see it."

He then asked about the position of women in Saudi Arabia. According to Amnesty International, women and girls in Saudi Arabia still face deeply rooted discrimination and legal subordination to men.

"Of course I can’t oversee it all, but personally I notice little of women having nothing to say there," Reijnders began his answer. "We live on a very quiet compound, I should add. That is relatively Western, because a lot of expats and footballers live there too. I get the feeling that women in Saudi Arabia have quite a lot to say. Of course I can’t oversee everything, but we ourselves have a positive impression," he concluded.