Saudi PIF respond to Newcastle United nonsense from Richard Keys

On Tuesday, disgraced former Sky Sports host Richard Keys claimed that he'd heard 'whispers' that the PIF were looking to sell Newcastle United.

Richard Keys even went as far as to suggest that the PIF were seeking £1bn for the club and already had buyers interested.

Naturally, Keys' wild claims were met with widespread scepticism, even if we did call it a 'believable lie' because of the fact that the PIF has faded into the background significantly of late.

That was always the plan, though. PIF are the money behind the project; they are an investment group they pump money into projects and help to hire the right people to run them, and that's what they did with Newcastle.

PIF's lack of visibility isn't a concern

Comparisons were made over the weekend over Kyril Louis-Dreyfus being in attendance at St James' Park while Newcastle's owners were absent.

Well, that's because our owners are based in Saudi Arabia and have a million other businesses to worry about. David Hopkinson was there, and he's the guy in charge as far as the PIF are concerned.

Indeed, The Chronicle has reported on the PIF's stance on Newcastle United following Richard Keys' claims, and it will come as no surprise that they remain fully committed to the project.

The report claims that there has been daily dialogue between the PIF, David Hopkinson and Ross Wilson. In this 21st-century landscape, face-to-face meetings are increasingly less important. As long as all parties are still in regular contact in some way, there's no issue here.

Saudi investment needed

As long as the PIF keep putting money into the club and backing those whom they put in charge to run it, we don't really care how many games Yasir Al-Rumayyan attends. It's not as if his presence provides extra impetus to the players on the pitch, and that's what matters.

All we care about is that when the decisions are made on the training ground and stadium, the PIF authorise the funds to get it done. That's their role in all of this.

There may be interested parties out there who want to buy Newcastle United, and that might tempt the PIF if they feel they can make a profit on their investment, but right now, there's no indication that's the plan.