RIYADH – Newcastle United’s Saudi Arabian owners are considering buying another top football club in Europe, as the kingdom prepares for more big spending in sports – a key pillar of efforts to diversify its economy, boost tourism and gain more political influence.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has in recent days switched from considering the addition of only smaller teams to its football stable, to potentially buying another team from one of Europe’s five big leagues, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
The strategy rethink comes less than a week after European football’s governing body Uefa said it would allow a host of clubs with the same owner to compete across its elite competitions, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Uefa cleared English Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa as well as France’s Toulouse to play in its tournaments next season, despite their owners having interests in other clubs who will be competing.
The decision was reached after the owners of those clubs agreed to take steps to ensure they were run independently of each other.
It is a marked shift in Uefa’s oversight of the multi-club model. For years, it prohibited teams with the same owner from playing against each other in competitions such as the Champions League and Europa League to preserve the integrity of its flagship tournaments.
But the landscape has altered dramatically, as wealthy investors from the United States and Middle East have chased greater exposure to the world’s most popular sport.
Multi-club ownership is now prevalent in football, with its proponents pointing to the ability to save costs by sharing data and players across teams, and strike more lucrative commercial deals. Critics say it kills competition and sucks assets out of small teams to feed the biggest names in a group.
PIF led a £300 million (S$519.5 million)-plus takeover of Newcastle in 2021 that included the UK’s Jamie Reuben and Amanda Staveley as minority investors.
The owners have since invested heavily in the Magpies, who will compete in the lucrative Champions League next season for the first time in 20 years.
Newcastle’s owners have been exploring possible targets – reportedly including Belgium’s KV Oostende – but wanted to wait for clarification of Uefa’s stance on multi-clubs before proceeding with any new acquisition, the person said. A representative for PIF could not immediately provide comment, while a spokesman for Newcastle declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr have been banned from registering new players over outstanding debts, world football governing body Fifa said on Thursday.
Al-Nassr, who finished second in the league last season after signing Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo in January, bought Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic from Inter Milan earlier in July.
However, further signings cannot be registered as Al-Nassr still have to pay €460,000 (S$681, 444) to Leicester City for the 2018 signing of Nigerian attacker Ahmed Musa, according to media reports.
“The club Al-Nassr is currently prevented from registering new players due to outstanding debts. The relevant bans will be lifted immediately upon the settlement of the debts being confirmed by the creditors concerned,” a Fifa spokesman said. BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
