Gary Neville has called on the Premier League to 'look into' the huge investment from the Saudi Pro League as Newcastle United's part-owners ease Chelsea's Financial Fair Play concerns.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), who, of course, hold an 80% stake in Newcastle, have taken control of the Kingdom's four largest clubs - Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr - and the sovereign wealth fund have wasted no time in making further shockwaves in the world of sport. Karim Benzema has already left Real Madrid to join Al Ittihad and Al Hilal have agreed a £47m move for Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.
These high-profile deals are just the start. N'Golo Kante is close to sealing a switch to champions Al Ittihad; Edouard Mendy and Hakim Ziyech look set to join Al Ahli and Al Nassr respectively; and Kalidou Koulibaly is wanted by Al Hilal. The quartet are all currently on the books at Chelsea, who need to raise funds and reduce their wage bill, at a time when the PIF are searching for experienced internationals to effectively relaunch the Saudi Pro League.
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Chelsea have been the most active selling club in negotiations to date with the PIF, aided by long-standing links between both parties. Indeed, just last year, Cain International, which was co-founded by Todd Boehly and Jonathan Goldstein, teamed up with the PIF in a $900m investment in the Aman Group.
Some rival executives have felt Chelsea have essentially been able to use the Saudi Pro League to get out of their Financial Fair Play hole, at a time when the Blues' finances are being monitored by UEFA, and Neville has made his feelings clear.
"Any chance the Premier League can look into this Saudi trading like now!!!" he posted on Instagram. "Get a regulator in ASAP that's agile enough to stop these things at source!
"If it doesn't look right, it's probably not right. Independence is required ASAP. The governance of our game is a mess!"
Chelsea's owners have spent more than £650m on transfer fees to date and the club's hierarchy hope to complete the aforementioned sales before the end of the month so that they can be factored into accounts for the season just gone. That is all the more important after Chelsea missed out on European football and posted losses of £121m for the 2021/22 season and £153.4m in 2020/21. For context, the Premier League's profit and sustainability regulations only allow clubs to lose a maximum of £105m over a rolling three-year period.
