Revealed: How Cristiano Ronaldo & Neymar influenced Masters champion Jon Rahm's decision to make £450m move to LIV Golf

The Spanish superstar is believed to have agreed a £450 million ($566m) deal that will take him away from the PGA Tour and TGL League that has been created by Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. Rahm will be handed his own team in the LIV organisation, with the Ryder Cup hero joining the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Phil Mickelson, Cameron Smith and Lee Westwood in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia is pumping big money into elite sport – from boxing to Formula One – with football icons such as Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar having already signed lucrative contracts with teams in that region. Rahm admits that money was a factor in his move, with legendary performers from other fields convincing him that the time was right to take on a new challenge.

Rahm has told Barstool Golf when asked if the riches on offer in the Middle East influenced his decision: “It’s one of the reasons, I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. It’s one of the reasons. When Ronaldo, Neymar, Benzema went those are big enough names to think why not me? Clearly they’re trying to create a positive impact in sports. I’m happy that in a small way I can help with that.”

Ronaldo is currently on the books of Al-Nassr, alongside former Liverpool star Sadio Mane, while Brazil’s all-time leading goalscorer Neymar is nursing an injury at Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal and ex-Real Madrid striker Benzema is with Al-Ittihad.