Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan 'furious' as PIF set for multi-billion pound snub

Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is said to be furious as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund faces a £2.3bn snub.

The Magpies' majority owners have been chasing a groundbreaking merger with golf's PGA Tour, but now a consortium, the Strategic Sports Group, which includes Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group, have swooped in. The move is said to have left Al-Rumayyan furious as it feels PIF-owned LIV Golf is no longer at the centre of talks.

If PIF's merger with the PGA were to go through, Al-Rumayyan would become the chairman of the new golf tour but a multi-billion dollar deal with the SSG threatens this control. 

According to Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal, the Tour could secure a $3bn (£2.3bn) investment from SSG as early as next week in a deal which will initially exclude PIF. The Saudi wealth fund was set to invest the same amount.

Talks between the PGA and PIF are still ongoing and it is believed both entities could put their own funding into the tour. However, a deal with the SSG would largely diminish PIF's ammunition and put the merger into serious doubt.