Saudi Arabia has suddenly decided to change its investment strategy, and the purchases of clubs like that of OM are no longer really on the agenda.
Still under the American flag with Frank McCourt at the helm and keen to further invest heavily in the future of his club, Olympique de Marseille has been associated with Saudi Arabia for four years now. But the takeover project which seemed close to seeing the light of day in 2021 was never confirmed, despite insiders always ready to put a part back in the machine. However, in addition to McCourt’s unfailing investment, the trend has clearly changed on the Saudi side.
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β Olympique de Marseille (@OM_Officiel) October 31, 2024
The Gulf Kingdom, a specialist in investments in the four corners of the world, has decided to ease up on spending abroad, particularly in sport, reveals the Reuters news agency. This can already be seen with Newcastle’s financial resources, which are much less significant than at the time of the takeover. Important projects have been implemented, notably in golf and boxing, but also in the world of football with the recruitment of world stars for the local championship, the Saudi Pro League.
PIF focuses on Saudi Arabia
All this will be revised downwards in the years to come, announced the general director of the PIF, the princely investment fund of the Kingdom. Yasir Al-Rumayyan explained that spending on projects abroad represented 30% of PIF investments, and the idea now is to reduce this funding to between 18 and 20%. The goal of the investment fund is always to reduce its dependence on oil by increasing investments, but other areas than sport are considered more lucrative, such as energy, real estate, technology and finance of course. .
The idea is to focus on the economic and energy transformation of the country, and the organization of major events in Saudi Arabia, such as the Football World Cup, and no longer abroad. Projects to develop boxing matches outside the country have thus been canceled for the first time, a sign that the trend is reversing. Under these conditions, it is difficult to imagine Saudi Arabia restarting a very expensive project with the purchase of OM, even if such an expense does not represent an incredible investment for the PIF, which has nearly 1,000 billion euros. of assets.
