After plunging hundreds of billions of dollars into sport, Newcastle United owners PIF are scaling back their overseas investments.
The Public Investment Fund governor and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Ramayyan has been ordered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to concentrate more on matters at home in the Gulf.
That edict was handed down even before the war in Iran, which has squeezed the Saudi public purse even further.
The wider picture has sparked anxieties that PIF could turn off the taps at St James’ Park too.
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LIV Golf is perhaps the most significant retrenchment to date.
PIF played sugar daddy to the tune of $5bn for LIV, which was intended to rival the PGA Tour as golf’s premier property. But the exorbitant prize purses coupled with tepid commercial performance has led them to reassess.
In April, PIF announced that they would only fund LIV for the remainder of the 2026 season, which has four events remaining. They then left its executives, players and commercial partners to find a financial solution.
It looks likely that, if LIV get the financial package of up to $350m which they are seeking from external investors, the tour will be downsized. Player contracts and creditors might not even get paid in full should LIV apply for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US, which is a material possibility.
But with tensions at LIV HQ already running high, it has emerged this week that PIF could even U-turn on providing funds for the rest of the season.
It would be a brutal, clinical, dispassionate end to a rebel league which was at one point intended to be a statement to the world.
Could the same one day happen at Newcastle?
Speaking exclusively to Geordie Boot Boys, Professor Kieran Maguire, a football finance lecturer at University of Liverpool, is more optimistic.
Well-connected in the industry, Maguire says there would simply be too much reputational damage for PIF to pull out.
The club are, however, considering the sale of a minority stake in order to help pay for a new stadium, a few hundred yards away from St James’ Park, if indeed they opt not to expand the existing ground.
“I think WE need to separate out the two investments,” the Price of Football podcast host says.
“PIF very quickly realised that there was no affection among fans for LIV. It was a pariah product that didn’t generate particularly good attendances or sponsorships. There is no backlash against PIF if they pull out of LIV and there is a massive financial benefit.
“It’s different at Newcastle. There is an expectation of substantial investment, and there has been. It might not be the level that Newcastle fans want but that is far more to do with PSR than their willingness to spend. We have recently heard noises about building the new stadium. Realistically, that money has to come from the ownership. Interest costs are rising, so it’s not a good time to move to a new stadium.
“PIF are fairly smart and they are capable of reading the room. They know there is still, on balance, a positive perception of them among the fans. If they were to sell, that would evaporate and all of the soft power benefits that they have gotten in terms of reputation management would disappear.
“There could be a minority investment, but you need real success on the pitch to make that work.”
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