A consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s PIF sovereign wealth fund on 7 October completed the £305mn ($415mn) takeover of English football club Newcastle United. This brings to an end the ownership of disliked business mogul Mike Ashley (MEES, 31 May 2019). PIF emerged as a potential candidate to buy the club early in 2020 (MEES, 31 January 2020).
The Premier League finally greenlit the takeover this week after it apparently received legal assurances that the Saudi state would not ultimately control the club. Those assurances are questionable considering PIF’s chairman is none other than Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman (MbS), de facto leader of Saudi Arabia. (CONTINUED - 383 WORDS)
