Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan of Newcastle United has talked about PIF’s interest in the team and his goals for Saudi Arabian football.
Saudi Arabia is still putting a lot of money into football, so it will host the 2034 FIFA World Cup. After buying Newcastle United in October 2021, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has also bought a number of other top Saudi Pro League teams.
Because Saudi Arabia is investing in football, a lot of big stars have come to play in the Saudi Pro League. The World Cup is another important event in Saudi Arabian football history. Three years ago, PIF bought Newcastle United for £305 million. This sparked a renewed interest in investing in football, and Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who became chairman of Newcastle United after the takeover, thinks that PIF’s purchase of the Magpies was the “perfect” opportunity for them. They will use what they learned from their time on Tyneside to help develop the Saudi Pro League and make it one of the best football leagues in the world.
“perfect” was Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s Getting into Newcastle United
Al-Rumayyan talked at an event put on by The Economic Club of Washington about how he is using what he learned at Newcastle United to change sport in Saudi Arabia: Millions of people around the world are watching the World Cup, which is the biggest and best sports tournament in the world. In Saudi Arabia, it’s very important because it fits in with our plan to bring in more tourists and guests and make life better for Saudis.
“The first team we worked with was Newcastle United.” It made perfect sense to us because the price was lower than what other English Premier League teams were asking and the promise was so great. We spent about 350 million dollars and made everything better.
When we took over, their success was 19 out of 20. In the first season, we made it all the way to seventh place, but in the end, we finished 11th. Over the next three years, we won the club’s first cup in 70 years. That happened last year.
“So we started the Saudi Professional Football League. As most of us know, Cristiano Ronaldo plays there, Neymar used to play there, and Karim Benzema plays there. They are such football superstars.” “OK, now that we have great players, how can we make the clubs great?”
“Like we did with Newcastle United Football Club, we’re bringing that experience to Saudi, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Ahli, and the other clubs we own indirectly through Aramco, Neom, and Qiddiya.” It’s now one of the top four football leagues in the world.
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