Newcastle United chiefs are firmly focused on the future with PIF very much committed to the cause
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and director Jamie Reuben
Newcastle United CEO David Hopkinson, chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and director Jamie Reuben
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PIF are firmly committed to the long-term project at Newcastle United, with Middle East sources today insisting that the Magpies remain part of their portfolio.
Despite morning headlines that PIF are close to pulling the plug on LIV Golf, it is business as usual at St James' Park, and that will continue to be the case in the years ahead. Unlike the LIV Golf project, there are no plans to make cuts in funding for Newcastle, and PIF will continue to back the black and white cause.
Exciting developments are believed to be in the pipeline at United, but nobody is playing down the challenges that will be posed by squad cost ratio (SCR) and financial rules.
Suggestions of a £1bn price tag for a possible sale have been rejected by sources close to Newcastle, with Chronicle Live told nobody is "flapping" about the NUFC project on Tyneside or back in Riyadh. Instead, it is about ploughing on with the mission to turn Newcastle into one of the top revenue earners, but more importantly, a top side on the pitch.
Despite no mention of sport in a roadmap towards the Saudi Vision 2030, Chronicle Live has been told by senior sources that sport comes under Tourism, Travel and Entertainment in PIF's plans and very much includes Newcastle. In truth, sport was not mentioned as a category in the last PIF press release either, but we understand it fits in with Tourism, Travel and Entertainment in the eyes of PIF.
We understand that Newcastle are also part of PIF's Strategic Portfolio which was described yesterday as: "The Strategic Portfolio will actively manage key strategic assets to maximize financial returns and the economic impact of PIF’s companies, while supporting their efforts to attract capital and become global champions. Through the Strategic Portfolio, PIF will also continue to invest in opportunities arising from long-term global trends."
PIF have an 85% stake in the club, and despite no major sightings of Yasir Al-Rumayyan this season on Tyneside, the club's Saudi backers appointed CEO David Hopkinson to run the business day to day with the Canadian-based in the city, something which has been in full operation since autumn.
Hopkinson carried out a 100-day review of efficiency behind the scenes and a number of appointments have been made. Ensuring that the club's ability to make a profit and stay on an upward trajectory is something staff are driving forward every day.
PIF have already signed off a number of key decisions moving into the 2026/27 season and beyond. The same senior sources batted away suggestions that they will consider a £1bn sale and exit the scene completely after dismissing reports of a sale to Chronicle Live on April 4.
More than £500m has been pumped into United by PIF since the takeover in 2021, and that financial commitment is set to continue.
The reality is that Newcastle now move into what is deemed a complex summer as financial chiefs comply with SCR rules and the prospect of not qualifying for Europe. Failure to re-enter a UEFA competition will affect the budget, but there is already an acceptance behind the scenes that players will have to be sold in order to bring in new faces this summer.
Newcastle have already announced a new £18m training ground sponsor with KNOX Hydration with "more to come" in terms of sponsorship from Hopkinson. As for the new stadium project, whether to stay or go from St James' Park, nothing has changed from PIF's point of view.
Club chiefs have not made a final decision on the stadium yet, but plans to push on for a new training ground at a new site in Woolsington remain in place.
Hopkinson was asked about the bigger picture back in December and said: "By 2030, I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world.
"That kind of progress doesn’t take as long as you might think. What it takes is clarity of conviction.
"Can Newcastle win the Premier League? Yeah, of course. Why not? Our job is to set ourselves up as perennial contenders. We have to have the courage to ignore those that doubt us and even those that laugh at us."
PIF's last briefing within the four walls though made it clear where Newcastle would like to be. The club's director of communications, Lee Marshall, presented to supporters in the room on how the club sees the next few years at the most recent Fan Advisory Board.
The meeting minutes read: "Lee Marshall presented the Club’s long-term vision, outlining the ambition to become the number one football club in the world.
"LM reiterated that the club’s ambition is rooted in the vision of our chairman, His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, with a clear objective to credibly and sustainably challenge for both the Premier League and Women’s Super League titles by 2030.
"The Newcastle United Code was introduced as the foundation of the club’s culture. It comprises the core values of One Club, Excellence, Relentless, Accountable and Integrity, supported by behaviours and principles designed to apply to all staff across the organisation. LM provided an update on the one-hundred-day review, noting that the new chief executive is now in place and that the Newcastle United Code emerged from this process.
"He emphasised the importance of ambition, culture, mindset and decision making in accelerating progress, and confirmed that the work builds on existing aspirations, including those set out by our Chairman, His Excellency Yasir O. Al-Rumayyan."
After some suggestions that PIF were not committed to Newcastle, a wider statement from PIF governor and United chairman Yasir Al Rumayyan on their global investments, which include United, read only yesterday: "PIF’s strategy continues to deliver results as we grow domestically and internationally.
"In less than a decade, we have launched unprecedented projects, including giga-projects and major real estate developments, in addition to unique investments in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence, gaming and esports, and renewable energy.
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"PIF also grew assets under management six-fold and attracted global partners and capital to take part in Saudi Arabia’s transformation.
"PIF will continue to support Saudi Vision 2030 objectives by delivering competitive domestic ecosystems, investing in national champions that have the potential to scale globally, and forming global economic partnerships, building on what has been achieved under PIF’s 2021-2025 strategy."
And that strategy includes Newcastle although building a strong team on and off the pitch that operates on Tyneside is part of that plan.