Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) is the latest Middle Eastern heavyweight to show interest in investing in the high-profile world of sports. It was revealed last week by the Wall Street Journal that PIF is in talks to purchase English Premier League football club Newcastle United for around £350mn ($454mn).
Riyadh would be following in the footsteps of Qatar’s state Sports Investment which bought French football club Paris Saint-Germain in 2011 and the UAE’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan who acquired Manchester City in 2008. PIF wouldn’t even be the first Saudi owners of a Premier League team: Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the grandson of the late King Abdulaziz, took over newcomers Sheffield United last year. (CONTINUED - 365 WORDS)