Georgina and Ronaldo sell Saudi Arabia as a dream country

The situation suggests relevance. People in government positions sit in such chairs when they give TV interviews. And Georgina Rodriguez, who now looks directly into the camera and says: “At least I couldn’t travel without a hair clip.”

The scene in the third season of the reality show about Georgina Rodriguez, successful model, influencer, partner of Ronaldo, on Netflix illustrates why even trash-hardened people reach their limits with “I am Georgina”. The gap between the banality of the statements and the portrayal of Rodriguez as a superstar is so great that you feel like you’re being tricked.

Now Rodriguez, who works for brands like Guess or the Vetements label, has already shown in the past that she lives in a disconnected universe of which she is the only princess. With its display of grotesque wealth, the series not only managed to confirm every cliché about footballers and models. It shows a kind of people who feel like they are a separate caste.

Climate crisis? Don’t you know it: The private jet is actually your fourth luxury nest alongside the villas in Saudi Arabia, Madrid and Portugal. Social responsibility? It is celebrated in the media with a visit to a girl suffering from cancer. But most of the time wealth is simply demonstrated. In addition to the banality, this is exactly what makes the series so difficult to bear: we watch incredibly rich people constantly trying to get even richer, while catastrophes occur in the world that take our breath away.

This is more than ignorance. The series is not only an advertising platform for Rodriguez, but also for Saudi Arabia. For two years, Ronaldo has been gilding his career there at the al-Nassr club: including advertising revenue, the 39-year-old is expected to earn around 200 million euros per year. To relax, the family travels to a luxury resort on the Red Sea, “the paradise of Saudi Arabia,” as Rodriguez says. She visits the tourist destination al-Ula and the film studios there with friends. “We found out that the best sets are in Saudi Arabia,” says Rodriguez’s manager. “I want to make a film in this wonderful studio,” she says.

The country can present itself as a kind of huge shopping mall that leaves nothing to be desired. It doesn’t matter that it violates human rights. The role of women is not discussed even when Rodriguez, wearing a silver, glittering dress with a sweeping décolleté, signs autographs to a group of deeply veiled women. With the series, Netflix proves that the Saudi sportswashing strategy not only works, but that success can be increased with a painless power couple like the Ronaldos.

What role does Ronaldo actually play in the series? He is completely the loving partner and father. “What is the vitamin for beauty?” he asks once as he organizes a kind of quiz with the children. Nobody knows the answer. “The vitamin for beauty,” he says, “is Cristiano.”