Yasir Al-Rumayyan lays out PIF’s staggering new wealth - with Newcastle United set to benefit

Newcastle United non-executive chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has provided a fresh update on the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia’s future ambitions.

PIF own 80 per-cent of the Magpies, with PCP Partners and RB Sports & Media holding a 10 per-cent stake each. Al-Rumayyan is one of five directors at Newcastle, including Amanda Staveley, Jamie Reuben, Abdulmajid Ahmed Alhagbani and Asmaa Mohammed Rezeeq.

Since acquiring United in October 2021 for £305million, PIF has continued to financially back the club, not just in the transfer market, but behind the scenes, with the club’s Benton training ground undergoing major renovation work.

And away from Tyneside, PIF is focused on growing its assets, with Al-Rumayyan revealing the exact scale of their ambitions when speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute Priority Summit in Miami this week.

He said: “PIF when the Crown Prince [Mohammed bin Salman] became the Chairman back in 2015, we had $150billion [approximately £100billion] assets under management, today we’re around $650billion [£525.6billion].

“Our target by the end of 2025, we want to go to $1trillion. By the end of 2030, we’re hoping to between somewhere between $2-3trillion.”

Al-Rumayyan has only visited St James’ Park a handful of times since becoming non-executive, with the day-to-day running of Newcastle left to Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi.

Al-Rumayyan did, however, write an open letter to supporters on the one-year anniversary of the takeover.

“Thank you for your incredible support,” Al-Rumayyan wrote. “I am very conscious of the contributions that you all make – on and off the field.

“Football clubs are driven by their fans. And this club’s fans are more passionate and more committed than any others. I have seen for myself on many occasions how Newcastle fans have lifted our team.

“As we mark the first anniversary of our takeover of the club, it seemed appropriate to take the time to say thank you – on behalf of the Newcastle board.”

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