Investment Alliance Negotiates with Saudi PIF to Buy Stake in Al-Nassr Club
An alliance led by Redbird Capital Partners is negotiating with the Public Investment Fund to buy a stake in Al-Nassr Club, with a request to include Cristiano Ronaldo as an investor.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
A source revealed that an investment consortium led by the US-based RedBird Capital Partners, alongside Saudi investors, has entered into negotiations with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) to acquire a stake in Al-Nassr Club.
The consortium includes the US-based RedBird Capital Partners, chaired by Jerry Cardinale, the Saudi-based Al-Wasael Company, and businessman and former club president Ibrahim Al-Muhaidib, according to the source, who confirmed that meetings between the consortium and the PIF have taken place in recent weeks.
The source added that negotiations are still ongoing among the parties, while the PIF remains open to all options and offers presented to it.
On August 19, the Ministry of Sports transferred the 25% stake held by the non-profit foundation to the PIF, raising its ownership in the club to 100%, after it had acquired a 75% stake in the summer of 2023.
For his part, the Italian website Calcio e Finanza reported that the talks have not yet reached their final stages or resulted in a binding agreement.
A source close to the consortium confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo’s inclusion in the deal was part of the plan, stating that investors requested to bring Cristiano Ronaldo into the transaction as an investor, based on a clause in his contract with Al-Nassr that grants him priority to acquire a 20% stake in the club if it is offered for private investment.
Last week, the Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported that Cristiano Ronaldo, Al-Nassr’s captain, had joined the consortium. According to the Portuguese newspaper, each member of the consortium must inject at least $100 million, raising the potential investment volume to approximately $500 million.
RedBird Capital Partners fully owns the Italian club AC Milan and the French club Toulouse, and holds more than 10% of the English club Liverpool.
The study of selling a stake in the club comes as Al-Nassr faces mounting financial pressures, having exceeded SAR 800 million, most of which stems from financial decisions made last season, according to a report by the Saudi newspaper Al-Riyadh in late July.
According to the same report, the PIF has begun taking urgent measures to contain the financial crisis facing the club, particularly given its placement under strict financial supervision by the Saudi Professional League, which undermined its ability to sign players during the recent summer transfer window.
