Saudi funds boost Newcastle's rivals

Contrary to widely held belief, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has contributed wonderfully to English football this summer. It’s done marvellously for Liverpool, excellently for Chelsea, great for Manchester City and, further afield, even found time to help Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid too.  For Newcastle United, not so much. Indeed, those who once welcomed the PIF to the city will increasingly worry whether it cares much for their club at all. 

Saudi Arabian money propped up Fifa’s Club World Cup, which was only going to benefit two English clubs — Chelsea and City — plus a longer list of European royalty. Now, PIF-backed Al-Hilal have paid £46.3million for Darwin Núñez of Liverpool, a windfall that may help facilitate their continued interest in Newcastle’s crown jewel, Alexander Isak. 

In landing Darwin Nunez from Liverpool in a deal worth at least £46million this week, Al Hilal will believe they have made another statement for the Saudi Pro League. A Premier League title winner from last season might have chosen other European options, but found greater attraction in a country intent on disrupting football’s ecosystem.

Al Hilal have ample reason to be satisfied as they aim to build on reaching the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup last month. Yet in strengthening one of its leading clubs this summer, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) might indirectly end up diminishing the powers of another.

No transfer is an island, and Nunez’s exit from Anfield could carry obvious ramifications. That £46m ($61.7m) increases Liverpool’s financial muscle for the closing weeks of the window and also leaves a space to fill in the attacking options of Arne Slot.

The obvious, albeit far from guaranteed, answer is Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak. One bid of £110m has already fallen short of Newcastle’s valuation this summer, but a cash injection, effectively delivered by PIF, could in turn heighten the vulnerability over Isak’s future. Ripples from the Nunez deal have the obvious potential to quickly reach Tyneside.

PIF has owned Newcastle since 2021, transforming the outlook of a once bedraggled institution and delivering a first domestic trophy in 70 years.

In the same period, however, PIF has routinely been found — in a sense — giving financial aid to Newcastle’s Premier League rivals. Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad, four of PIF’s Saudi Pro League clubs, have now written cheques totalling £500million to English clubs, including Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester City, in the last two years.

That recruitment drive has scattered stardust over the Saudi Pro League, but has inadvertently helped to aid the financial health of the selling clubs. Chelsea and Villa, who finished either side of Newcastle in last season’s Premier League table, have both benefited in times of PSR worries.

And now, two years after banking £40m for a 29-year-old Fabinho when selling on to Al Ittihad, Liverpool have received another windfall from a PIF-owned club. 

The Saudi Pro League’s pursuit of established Premier League players began in earnest two years ago. Four of the country’s biggest clubs — Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ahli and Al Ittihad — were taken over by PIF in June 2023, triggering a rush of ambitious signings to join Cristiano Ronaldo, whose move to Al Nassr had been confirmed on the final day of 2022.

The 2023-24 season saw over £250m spent on Premier League players, with the following campaign bringing a further £200m. Some, such as Jordan Henderson and Demarai Gray, did not join PIF-owned clubs, but the majority did. And that has meant cash heading to Newcastle’s Premier League rivals.

Manchester City, too, have found willing buyers in Saudi Arabia. Riyad Mahrez’s move to Al Ahli could be expected given his status as one of the Arab world’s most recognisable footballers, but they also found new homes for Aymeric Laporte and Joao Cancelo. That trio alone brought in £75m in fees, as well as trimming wage bills.

Villa, who Newcastle eventually pipped for Champions League qualification, have banked even more. The sales of Moussa Diaby and Jhon Duran last season, to Al Ittihad and Al Nassr respectively, brought in £115million, enabling Villa to spend in other areas.

Newcastle, meanwhile, have struck just one deal with a club within the PIF stable. Mercurial winger Allan Saint-Maximin was sold to Al Ahli for £19m — as confirmed in Newcastle’s accounts — in 2023. Compare and contrast this to Brentford, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham, who have all been part of bigger deals when cashing in on Ivan Toney, Ruben Neves and Aleksandar Mitrovic, respectively.

Experts believe Newcastle are not PIF’s most valued sporting project.  The rise of the Saudi Pro League and successful bid for the 2034 World Cup have both followed the Newcastle takeover, a point that once promised to change everything at St James’ Park.

“The focus of Saudi Arabia’s national development strategy, which includes the development of football, is very much on Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabian clubs,” says Simon Chadwick, a professor of sport and geopolitical economy at Skema Business School in France.

“I think the Saudis would be reluctant to lose face and sell Newcastle United, but at the same time, I do think the PIF-owned clubs in Saudi Arabia are much more important to the Saudi government.

“The focus is on how they can successfully deliver the World Cup, and they’re shaping their strategy in that context. Any club investments are going to have to service the needs of the 2034 World Cup.

“Newcastle United finds itself in a pretty unusual position. Yes, it’s a family member, but I don’t think it’s a particularly valuable or important family member.”