Football club ownership is a hot topic right now, particularly in the Premier League.
Wealthy investors have increasingly been eyeing opportunities to get involved with clubs at the top tier of English football for the past few years, leading to some high-profile — and in some cases highly controversial — takeovers.
Never was that more apparent than when, in 2021, the takeover of Newcastle United by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) was completed.
However, Newcastle are far from the only club with links to the sovereign wealth fund of the Arab nation, and now questions are being raised over the relationship between Chelsea and the Saudi PIF.
The scrutiny over that relationship has intensified amid reports that several Chelsea players could be on their way to Saudi clubs owned by the PIF.
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Who owns Chelsea?
Todd Boehly is the figurehead of the Chelsea ownership consortium and a name now familiar to millions of football fans. Boehly, a 49-year-old American businessman, is also part-owner of MLB team the LA Dodgers. He is the face of a group backed by investment firm Clearlake Capital, along with other wealthy partners, including Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, and Boehly's Dodgers partner Mark Walter.
Boehly is worth around $4.5 billion, according to Forbes. He is heavily involved in U.S. sport, a fact underlined by his involvement with the Dodgers, where he is a member of the ownership consortium Guggenheim Baseball Management. He is reported to have at 20 percent personal stake in the team.
In 2013, Boehly secured a blockbuster deal between Time Warner Cable and the Dodgers to create SportsNet LA, a regional network to broadcast all LA Dodgers content.
Furthermore, he holds a minority stake in the world-renowned NBA team the LA Lakers and the women's team, the Sparks, with his ownership group alongside Walter buying a 27 percent stake in the combined organisation.
Is Clearlake Capital owned by Saudi Arabia PIF?
The Saudi PIF has financial interests in a vast array of companies and projects, including many in the world of sport, with Newcastle and the LIV Golf Tour two of the better known ones in that domain.
It has been reported by Sportsmail that the PIF has "billions of pounds of assets managed by Clearlake", though Chelsea sources have insisted there was no Saudi involvement when the club was purchased by Clearlake in 2022.
Journalist Ben Jacobs tweeted that "Clearlake and PIF have an excellent relationship", though that is not the same thing as the former being owned by the latter.
The list of players retained for the 2023/24 season has been published, with Tiemoue Bakayoko’s departure from the club now confirmed.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 16, 2023
Which football clubs do Saudi Arabia PIF own?
Newcastle are the biggest name in terms of football clubs under the ownership of the Saudi Arabia PIF, but they are not the only ones.
Saudi clubs Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli and Al Hilal are also owned by the PIF with a 75 percent ownership.
"The transfer of the four clubs will unleash various commercial opportunities, including investment, partnership and sponsorships across numerous sports,” said the PIF.
"PIF's ownership in the clubs' companies represent 75 per cent in each club, while their respective non-profit foundations hold 25 per cent ownership of each club."
It remains to be seen how much further the PIF will exert its influence over the world of football.
Which Chelsea players are moving to Saudi Arabia?
N'Golo Kante could be set to pave the way for a number of Chelsea stars to make a move to the Saudi Pro League, where global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is now plying his trade.
Kante will join Al Ittihad when his contract expires at the end of the month, while current team-mate Hakim Ziyech is primed to join Ronaldo at Al Nassr.
Farewell, N'Golo. Thanks for everything. 💙
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) June 21, 2023
The same report suggests Romelu Lukaku is on Al Hilal's radar, while Al Ahli are favourites to land Edouard Mendy. Meanwhile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Kalidou Koulibaly could land up at any of the PIF-owned Pro League quartet.
All of them would be set to secure bumper paydays by making the move, with lucrative contracts on offer for big names who opt to grace a league that otherwise might not have captured their attention.