US investor Stephen Pagliuca said Saudi Arabia’s investment in European football has the potential to significantly disrupt the English Premier League — at present the richest in the sport.
“It’s been an extraordinary injection of capital and increased the price of players dramatically,” Pagliuca, a senior adviser at private equity firm Bain Capital, told Bloomberg TV when discussing the recent spending by clubs in the Saudi Pro League.
Saudi Arabia is pumping millions of dollars into building its professional football league as part of a broader plan to invest in sports and boost its tourism industry. The kingdom’s Public Investment Fund in June took control of four of the Saudi Pro League’s biggest clubs and has been adding big-name footballing talent from Europe to their squads.
Pagliuca is no stranger to investing in sports. He’s the co-owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team in the US and also holds a stake in Italian football team Atalanta. This week, Atalanta reportedly agreed to sell one of its players — defender Merih Demiral — to Saudi Arabian team Al-Ahli. Last year, Pagliuca made an unsuccessful bid for west London team Chelsea — one of the clubs that has been selling players to the Saudi Arabian league this summer.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Messi, De Bruyne and Haaland on shortlist for UEFA award given to best player in Europe last seasonMeanwhile, Pep Guardiola is the favorite for the men’s coaching award after leading Manchester City to the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup titles
Read more »
Iran's foreign minister meets Saudi crown princeDUBAI (Reuters) - Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Friday, ...
Read more »
Iran's foreign minister meets Saudi crown princeDUBAI (Reuters) - Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on Friday, ...
Read more »
Iran's foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince as tensions between rivals easeDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's foreign minister met Friday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his visit to the kingdom, a sign of how the two countries are trying to ease tensions after years of turmoil.
Read more »
Iran's foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince as tensions between rivals easeDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's foreign minister met Friday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his visit to the kingdom, a sign of how the two countries are trying to ease tensions after years of turmoil.
Read more »
Iran's foreign minister visits Saudi Arabia's powerful crown prince as tensions between rivals easeDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's foreign minister met Friday with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as part of his visit to the kingdom, a sign of how the two countries are trying to ease tensions after years of turmoil.
Read more »