Newcastle United owners the Saudi Public Investment Fund are working on 14 business deals that could have a major impact on their global strategy.
Since buying Newcastle for £305m in 2021, PIF have made no secret of their plans for domination, not just within football but across the world of sport.
Saudi Arabia are set to host the World Cup in 2030 and have invested heavily in motorsport, boxing, tennis and golf among a variety of other sports.
But club football appears to still be their main area of focus.
And with theirambitions at Newcastle anchored in terms of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, PIF have looked to their own domestic league to push their global brand.
However, the latest news coming from the Gulf states suggest that they do not plan to accelerate their plans for the Saudi Pro League any time soon.
PIF seeks to sell six clubs, with another eight soon
As relayed by journalist Ben Jacobs, PIF have revealed that they plan to privatise six of the state-owned clubs playing in the Saudi pyramid.
The sovereign wealth fund are also said to be putting measures in place to do the same with another eight clubs in the future.
The six clubs for whom they are actively courting a deal at this moment in time are Al-Zulfi, Al-Nahda, Al-Okhdood, Al-Ansar, Al-Orouba and Al-Kholoud.
It is also claimed that the auction, which is being pitched at both Saudi and international investors, could see an overseas investor take over a Saudi club as part of a multi-club network.
Newcastle have been linked with establishing a multi-club network, although there has not been any suggestion that might include a club from their owners’ homeland.
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What does this mean for Newcastle?
While none of the main clubs in the Saudi Pro League – Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr or Neymar’s Al-Hilal, for example – are for sale, this move could give a hint about PIF’s direction domestically.
The eventual sale of the 14 clubs would signal that PIF eventually intend to let the Pro League stand on its own two feet, without state funding.
That will not affect Newcastle directly, of course, but it could close off an avenue for intra-group player sales to PIF-owned clubs.
Miguel Almiron is among the Newcastle players to have been heavily linked with a move to the Middle East, for example.
