The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund has become one of the most powerful forces in global sport, and its ownership of Newcastle United is often seen as one of its most visible projects.
When PIF completed the takeover of the club in 2021, it sent shockwaves through English football. Newcastle were transformed overnight in terms of ambition, profile, and expectation. Yet despite the headlines and progress on the pitch, the financial reality behind the project is more complex than many fans might assume.
PIF are among the wealthiest ownership groups in world football, but owning a Premier League club comes with restrictions that do not exist in many other sports.
Profit and Sustainability Rules mean Newcastle cannot simply spend without limits, no matter how deep the owners’ pockets are. That reality has forced a more careful and measured approach on Tyneside, one based on long-term growth rather than instant domination.
Finance expert Adam Williams explains that this was never a surprise to PIF. From the very beginning, they understood that building Newcastle into a competitive force would take time.
Unlike in other sports where Saudi-backed projects have moved aggressively and without restraint, the Premier League requires patience. Newcastle were not meant to become an overnight version of Manchester City. Instead, the club has been steadily rebuilt, with Champions League football secured and a long-awaited domestic trophy already delivered.
Williams believes Newcastle United also played a wider role in Saudi Arabia’s global sporting ambitions. Rather than being a standalone project, the club helped PIF gain credibility and influence within football at the highest level.
That credibility has been vital as Saudi Arabia pushes forward with its successful bid to host the 2034 World Cup. In simple terms, Newcastle opened doors. The World Cup, however, is where the real financial and political focus lies.
Since the takeover, PIF have invested more than £800 million into Newcastle United. That may sound enormous, but in the context of Saudi Arabia’s broader plans, it is relatively modest.
Williams estimates that spending on the World Cup will be at least 200 times greater than what has been committed to Newcastle. On a global scale, the World Cup is far more important to Saudi Arabia than any single football club, no matter how passionate the fanbase.
There has also been speculation that PIF may sell some of its sporting assets as it reshapes its portfolio. Reports suggest Saudi Arabia could move on from clubs like Al-Hilal while keeping hold of projects that offer strategic value.
Newcastle, in that sense, sit in a unique category. The club is both a cultural asset and a powerful branding tool, even if it may never deliver huge profits on paper.
Williams believes that if PIF were to sell Newcastle United in the future, even for a figure between £1 billion and £2 billion, they would still likely make a financial loss. That is not because the club has failed, but because competing at the top of English football demands constant investment.
However, that loss would be largely irrelevant to PIF. The takeover was a statement move, one that created opportunities elsewhere where far greater financial returns are possible.
The contrast becomes clearer when looking at PIF’s involvement in golf. Their investment in LIV Golf was far more aggressive and costly, with more than $5 billion poured into the project.
Unlike Newcastle, LIV Golf is expected to eventually generate a direct financial return. While it is currently losing money, the long-term goal is to build a profitable product by aligning more closely with established institutions like the PGA Tour.
Williams explains that this approach reflects a wider Saudi strategy in sport. When conflict does not deliver results, cooperation becomes the next step. Whether through football, golf, or gaming partnerships such as EA Sports, PIF’s aim is to blend cultural influence with reliable revenue streams. Newcastle United fall into the cultural category, a club that enhances Saudi Arabia’s presence and reputation in global football.
In the end, Newcastle United may never be about profit in the traditional sense. Even if the club is sold for a huge sum in the future, the balance sheet may still show a loss. But for PIF, that loss is the cost of entry into a much bigger game.
Newcastle helped change perceptions, build relationships, and support ambitions that stretch far beyond St James’ Park. From that perspective, the investment has already paid off, even if the numbers alone suggest otherwise.
