“The problem is this, the Premier League wants to know who will be running the club, who will have the final say on decisions, who will negotiate sponsorship deals and so on and so on.
“The PIF has the majority stake but the management structure does not seem to recognise that. The more questions that have been asked, the more muddled and confused it becomes. The Premier League is not satisfied with the answers it has been given.”
Certainly, so far, the answers provided by the buyers do not appear to have persuaded the Premier League that it can allow the takeover to go through as it has been organised. The crux of the problem appears to remain that the Premier League is unconvinced by the argument that the PIF is independent of the Saudi government and, therefore, is insisting on the link being made clearer.
The buyers have continued to argue that the PIF is a separate legal entity to the Saudi State, an argument apparently undermined by the fact Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de-facto ruler, is chairman of the fund. The PIF is understood to have continued to maintain that it is an independent investment vehicle.
It is understood that Staveley, who will be the public face of the takeover, will be in day-to-day charge of the business. Three-fifths of the board will be made up of Saudi representatives, with the chairman expected to be Yasir Al-Rumayyan who is the governor of the PIF. Jamie Reuben, who will have to step down as a director of Championship club Queens Park Rangers, will also be on the board.
