October 20: AC Milan owner RedBird Capital Partners is in talks to acquire a controlling stake in Al Nassr, with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) working to clean up the club’s balance sheet ahead of a potential sale.
According to Semafor, a RedBird-led consortium has held at least two meetings with PIF about buying a 70% stake valued at around SAR 1 billion ($267 million).
Discussions are still preliminary and there is no guarantee of an agreement, but the proposed structure could also give Cristiano Ronaldo a major ownership position in the club he joined almost four years ago.
Ronaldo could take up to 20%, while Riyadh-based Saudi Media Company has also been identified as a potential investor. Neither the eventual division of the shares nor the source of Ronaldo’s possible participation has been specified.
Ahead of any transaction, PIF is seeking to address about SAR 800 million ($213 million) in debt to Al Nassr through new sponsorship deals involving companies from its wider portfolio.
That debt has become increasingly difficult to ignore despite the extraordinary spending that followed Ronaldo’s arrival and the subsequent recruitment of high-profile players in the Saudi Pro League.
Al Nassr had already faced tighter spending conditions earlier this year, with more transfer business now tied to the club’s ability to generate commercial income rather than simply relying on shareholder support.
Proportionately, the reported price of 70% would imply an equity valuation of around SAR 1.43 billion ($381 million) for the club, although this figure does not take into account how existing debt would be dealt with.
There is already a useful comparison in Riyadh.
PIF completed the sale of 70% of Al Hilal to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company in September for SAR 840 million, valuing the club’s capital at SAR 1.2 billion. Al Nassr’s discussions therefore follow a route that has already been tried with one of Saudi football’s other major state-backed clubs.
The four leading sides (Al Nassr, Al Hilal, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli) were transferred under PIF control in 2023 as part of the Kingdom’s effort to transform the domestic game. Having funded the initial acceleration, the direction is now towards private equity and more commercially sustainable ownership structures.
Al Nassr would add Saudi Arabia to Redbird’s football portfolio which already contains AC Milan and Toulouse, along with its minority investment in Liverpool owner Fenway Sports Group.
Ronaldo’s presence would also give any new ownership group an obvious global commercial asset. Potential investors are particularly interested in raising Al Nassr’s profile in the US.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)