Saudi PIF set to bail out Newcastle's 'big six' rivals as four Chelsea players head to Middle East
Earlier this month, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) took over the traditional top four clubs in the Saudi Pro League; Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli, and Al Ittihad.
A few weeks later, our majority owners are now funding major deals for a host of Premier League stars, with FOUR Chelsea players now closing in on lucrative moves to the Middle East.
As revealed by Fabrizio Romano, N'Golo Kante has agreed to join Al Ittihad - where he'll earn €100m over his four-year deal - Hakim Ziyech is close to joining Cristiano Rolando at Al Nassr, Kalidou Koulibaly is in advanced talks to join Al Hilal and Edouard Mendy has agreed personal terms over a move to Al Ahli.
Kante leaves on a free, but substantial fees are expected to be paid for Ziyech, Koulibaly and Mendy, meaning our majority owners will be lining the pockets of 'big six' rivals Chelsea.
After splashing out over £500m on players last season, the Blues find themselves in a tricky position with an overly inflated squad, but the PIF appear to be bailing them out through their latest big-money venture in the KSA.
What's more, PIF are also major investors in Chelsea’s majority shareholder; Clearlake Capital. Speaking about this link, CBS reporter Ben Jacobs said: “Clearlake and PIF have an excellent relationship. And the latter are driving many high-profile moves to Saudi on behalf of Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, Al-Ittihad and Al-Ahli. Chelsea see an opportunity to offload some players to Saudi. And PIF have multiple Chelsea players on their radar."
It is slightly irritating as a Newcastle fan to see the PIF essentially helping out a direct rival. But, at the end of the day, we are one of several major investments they oversee, with the Saudi Pro League likely to be a key focus as part of their vision 2030.
It's also disappointing to see Chelsea's business model of buying for the sake of buying - which failed spectacularly - being rewarded, as emerging leagues are happily paying inflated fees for flops they'd have struggle to get big money for.
I wonder if the top four in Saudi fancy any of Jeff Hendrick, Ryan Fraser and Martin Dubravka...
