Newcastle United have now been acquired by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) after they paid £320 million to previous owner Mike Ashley. They now have controlling 80% stakes of the club, while the remaining 20% is equally split between PCP Capital Partners, a consortium of investors headed by Amanda Staveley and RB Sports & Media.
The governor of the body, Yasir Al-Rumayyan is the new president of the club. He is one of the most powerful men in Saudi Arabia, and is very influential in the business sector in the country.
Having a net worth of €380 billion, Newcastle United are now the richest club in the world. The riches of Manchester City and Chelsea are only a fraction of the Magpies at this point, and fans have been celebrating the departure of Mike Ashley after long-standing protests for the departure of the previous owner of the club.
Last April, Yousef Al-Obaidly (executive director of the Qatari company beIN) accused the government of Saudi Arabia of “facilitating the theft of almost three years of commercial rights of the Premier League on a global scale” through its endorsement of the pirate service beoutQ. Due to this very reason, the takeover took much longer than expected, but has now been completed 18 months later.
The new owners will surely invest in the club, and the projections are for £200 million to be spent on revamping the team to be able to compete for the title. However, it will need time and patience. The first step for the improvement of the team will be through the recruitment of new players.
