‘We remain committed’ – Yasir Al-Rumayyan reveals PIF plan that impacts Newcastle United

The Public Investment Fund have been the majority owners of Newcastle United since October 2021.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan has vowed that the Public Investment Fund remain committed to its overseas investments.

And in a fresh message at the FII Priority Summit in Rome, Newcastle United’s chairman reiterated PIF’s position as “long-term, patient investors”. Doubts about whether PIF – which owns an 85 per cent stake in the Magpies – are dedicated to the cause crept in earlier this year.

Saudi funding withdrew from LIV Golf after squandering around $5billion in four years. In April, PIF set out their “Value Realization” phase – designed to maximise the returns of an eye-watering portfolio.

Naturally, concerns arose regarding whether Newcastle would be affected. However, the Magpies have proven to be a shrewd investment for the Saudi backers.

What was a £305million football club five years ago is now worth well over £1billion, with PIF investing around £700million in total. Owning a Premier League outfit also provides a front-facing, high-profile vehicle on the global sporting stage.

Toon chairman Al-Rumayyan – also the governor of PIF – jetted into Tyneside in May. During his visit, he reaffirmed his long-term commitment to making Newcastle a football powerhouse.

This sentiment has been echoed several times by CEO David Hopkinson, who bullishly predicts the Magpies will be a European heavyweight within four years. Speaking at the FII summit, Al-Rumayyan outlined PIF’s stance to its global portfolio – which includes Newcastle.

“For us at the PIF, we always continue to invest, be very much diverse and our portfolio structurally resilient,” he said. “We are a long-term patient investor and we will remain committed to all of our investments and investment strategy around the world.

“A lot of people thought we would stop deploying investments internationally. I can tell you that we’re not going to stop. The percentages are going lower, but the absolute numbers will continue to grow.

“We just got our board to approve our new strategy until the end of 2030. What PIF did since 2016, we basically brought the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the world. Now our new strategy is to bring the world back to Saudi.”