Newcastle
BREAKING; Newcastle confirms fresh PIF investment interest
Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has confirmed the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s interest in investing in Brazilian football.
PIF completed a takeover of Newcastle in October 2021 in a deal worth in excess of £300million. Since then the club has progressed on and off the field, but spending has been limited by the Premier League’s financial rules.
PIF has since expanded its investment in football by taking over four Saudi Pro League clubs (Al Ahli, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Nassr) last year. And Al-Rumayyan wants the investment in football to continue with the Brazilian market targeted
The Newcastle chairman has been speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit in Rio de Janeiro this week
“We started investing in Brazil in 2016 through one of our subsidiaries, SALIC, in food securities,” Al-Rumayyan said. “We are interested in investing in technology, renewable energy, and mining, and hopefully in football too.
“About 70% of the population of Saudi Arabia is under the age of 35. So, some of the things that we are interested in are recreation, entertainment, and sports. And this is like the best place to discuss football.”
PIF has previously been linked with smaller clubs in Europe to act as a ‘feeder club’ to Newcastle, but nothing has materialised so far. Belgian side KV Oostende were previously targeted by PIF but have since been hit with serious financial troubles and consecutive relegations.
Newcastle have also paid significant attention to Brazilian football in recent seasons with head of recruitment Steve Nickson visiting the country to scout players. The club has also expanded its global recruitment network by appointing scouts specialising in South American football.
The Magpies are hoping to build on the success of Brazilian stars Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton by signing some of the country’s emerging talents for relatively low transfer fees.
