The Scoop
Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is tapping its portfolio companies to pay off 800 million riyals ($213 million) of debt held by the soccer club Al Nassr — where star Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo plays — according to people familiar with the matter.
Public Investment Fund (PIF) is orchestrating corporate sponsorship deals to strengthen the Saudi Pro League club’s balance sheet, which would help facilitate a sale to investors led by AC Milan owner RedBird Capital, these people said.
One person close to the fund described RedBird’s interest as “early” and cautioned that a deal might not be reached. RedBird has held at least two meetings with PIF about taking a 70% stake in the team, the people said.
RedBird and its partners would pay about 1 billion riyals ($267 million) for the stake, with Ronaldo himself expected to hold a 20% share. Other investors could include the privately held, Riyadh-based media, sports, and entertainment firm Saudi Media Company (SMC). Final terms have not been agreed upon and could still change, they said.
RedBird and PIF declined to comment. Al Nassr and Ronaldo’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Asharq Bloomberg previously reported that RedBird was leading a consortium in talks to buy a stake in the club.
Know More
Acquiring Al Nassr would help Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird strengthen ties with Ronaldo, one of the world’s most marketable athletes, whose investment firm, CR7, holds a 25% stake in UD Almeria, a club in Spain’s second division backed by SMC.
RedBird, which bought AC Milan in 2022 and manages roughly $21 billion, has built a reputation as a major media and sports broker, most recently financing high-profile media mergers involving Skydance, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Buying Al Nassr would put RedBird at the center of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar sports expansion, which had been on a tear before the government began cutting back on spending. The kingdom has used sports deals and hosted competitions to promote itself and encourage more active lifestyles at home. But after pouring billions of dollars into the effort, it now needs foreign investors to help turn around loss-making soccer clubs and the breakaway LIV Golf tournament.
Saudi Arabia spent around $900 million in 2023 buying up soccer’s biggest players like Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., and Karim Benzema in order to raise the profile of the kingdom’s league internationally. The government transferred ownership of several soccer clubs to PIF and other state-controlled companies to prepare the teams for privatization. The first fruit of that effort came this year when PIF sold a 70% stake in Riyadh-based club Al Hilal in August to Kingdom Holding, the investment company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal — a deal that valued the club at about 1.4 billion riyals.
If finalized, people close to Al Nassr’s new owners say being part of a wider consortium would allow the team to cut costs and tap media and marketing partnerships with other RedBird and SMC portfolio companies. They also want to boost the club’s profile in the US.
Notable
- Despite lofty expectations, Saudi league insiders say success means standards comparable to Dutch clubs rather than Europe’s elite. They hope stronger domestic competition will help develop Saudi talent ahead of the 2034 World Cup, Camilla Wright writes in a column for Semafor.