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Football club ownership is a hot topic these days, especially in the Premier League. Over the past few years, wealthy investors have increasingly noticed the opportunity to join English football’s top clubs, which has in turn led to a number of famous deals.
It has never been clearer than when, in 2021, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) takes over Newcastle. However, Newcastle are not the only club with links to the sovereign wealth fund of the Arab nation. And now questions are being raised about the relationship between Chelsea and Saudi PIF.
The scrutiny of that relationship has intensified amid reports that some Chelsea players may be on their way to PIF-owned Arab clubs.
Who owns Chelsea?
Todd Boehly is the head of the group that owns Chelsea and is a household name to millions of football fans. Boehly, a 49-year-old American businessman, is also a co-owner of the LA Dodgers MLB team. He is the face of a team backed by investment firm Clearlake Capital and other wealthy partners, including Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss and US billionaire Mark Walter.
Boehly is worth about $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. He is very involved in sports in America. This billionaire is a member of Guggenheim Baseball Management – the corporation that owns the Los Angeles Dodgers professional baseball team. He was given a 20% stake in this team.
In 2013, Boehly struck a “blockbuster” deal between Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers to create SportsNet LA, a regional network to broadcast all LA Dodgers content.
In addition, he holds a minority stake in the world famous NBA team LA Lakers and the Sparks women’s team. His ownership group and Walter bought a 27% stake in these two teams.
Is Clearlake Capital owned by Saudi Arabia PIF?
Saudi PIF has financial interests in a wide variety of companies and projects, including many in the sports world, including Newcastle and the LIV Golf Tour.
The Daily Mail has reported that PIF has “billions of pounds of assets managed by Clearlake”, although Chelsea sources insist there was no Saudi involvement when the club was bought by Clearlake. in 2022.
Journalist Ben Jacobs posted a tweet saying that “Clearlake and PIF have a great relationship”, although that does not mean that Clearlake is owned by PIF.
Which football clubs does Saudi Arabia PIF own?
Newcastle are the biggest names among the football clubs owned by Saudi Arabia PIF, but they are not the only ones. Saudi Arabian clubs like Al-Nassr, Al-Ittihad, Al-Ahli and Al-Hilal are also owned by PIF with a 75% holding.
PIF said: “The transfer of the 4 clubs will open up various commercial opportunities, including investment, cooperation and sponsorship of many sports. PIF’s ownership in the companies of PIF. clubs account for 75% of each, while their respective non-profit organizations hold 25% ownership of each club”.
It remains to be seen how far PIF will exert its influence on the world of football.
Which Chelsea players are about to move to Saudi Arabia?
N’Golo Kante can be seen as a “pave the way” for some Chelsea stars to move to the Saudi Pro League, where superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is also playing.
Kante has joined Al-Ittihad, while The Sun reports that former team-mate Hakim Ziyech could dock at Al-Nassr to side with Ronaldo. The same report shows that Romelu Lukaku is in Al-Hilal’s sights, while Al-Ahli is targeting Edouard Mendy. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kalidou Koulibaly could also land on any of the PIF-owned Pro League quartets.
All these players can bring in big revenue for Chelsea and help the team get rid of Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations. In the opposite direction, the Saudi Pro League will also reach out thanks to the appearance of a series of famous stars.
