Newcastle United sold Alexander Isak to Liverpool for £130 million at the end of the summer transfer window in 2025. The buyer got a British record and a striker.
The seller got cash the club can no longer count on from its majority owner. That owner is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 85% stake in Newcastle, and PIF’s 2026-2030 strategy no longer lists sport as a priority sector.
The recalibration is not confined to one club or one sport.
PIF caps LIV Golf funding at 2026
PIF confirmed on 30 April 2026 that it will fund LIV Golf only for the rest of this season.
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“PIF has made the decision to fund LIV Golf only for the remainder of the 2026 season. The substantial investment required by LIV Golf over a longer term is no longer consistent with the current phase of PIF’s investment strategy,” the fund said.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the PIF governor who launched LIV in 2022, has stepped down as chairman. Gene Davis, of Pirinate Consulting Group, now leads an independent board tasked with finding fresh investors. Independent estimates put PIF’s total spending on LIV since launch at close to $5 billion.
The Rugby World Cup bid that was never filed
Saudi Arabia had signalled it would bid for the 2035 Rugby World Cup. It has not filed an expression of interest with World Rugby, and it does not plan to before the bidding window closes in October 2026.
A joint bid with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates has also fallen away. Argentina, Japan and Spain have registered interest instead, and World Rugby will identify a preferred host in May 2027.
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2029 Asian Winter Games postponed
On 27 January 2026, the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Olympic Council of Asia jointly announced the postponement of the 2029 Asian Winter Games.
“The Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the OCA have agreed on an updated framework for future hosting of the Asian Winter Games, confirming the postponement of the 2029 edition to a later date to be announced in due course,” read the joint statement.
The event had been earmarked for Trojena, the mountain resort inside the NEOM megaproject. Construction at Trojena has fallen behind, and NEOM itself is under a broader strategic review.
Al-Hilal changes hands, Al-Nassr blocked from signings
The Saudi Pro League, once the visible face of the spending surge, is going the other way. In April 2026, PIF sold a 70% stake in Al-Hilal to Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company at an enterprise value of about $373 million.
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Yazeed Al-Humied, PIF’s deputy governor and head of MENA investments, said the deal “aligns with PIF’s strategy to maximise returns and redeploy capital within the domestic economy”.
At Al-Nassr, debts of more than 800 million Saudi riyals (about $213 million) triggered a squeeze that left the club unable to sign anyone unless the money came from sponsorship or its own commercial revenue. PIF stopped direct injections; new arrivals had to be funded from player sales or club cash.
The Saudi Snooker Masters, planned as a Riyadh showpiece, was cancelled.
Sport off PIF’s priority list
The retreat is not a defeat for sportswashing. It is a balance-sheet decision.
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PIF’s 2026-2030 allocation has shifted heavily toward the domestic economy, with sport dropped from the fund’s priority ecosystems. Al-Rumayyan has described the current phase as a “value realisation” era, and analysts have pointed to falling oil prices and regional geopolitical pressures.
Newcastle’s next move follows the same logic. PIF is exploring the sale of a minority stake in the club to help fund a new stadium of about £1 billion, with commercial revenue also mentioned as possible loan security. The infrastructure is the priority; the wage bill is not.
LIV Golf’s Saudi-funded season runs to the end of 2026. The 2035 Rugby World Cup bidding window closes in October 2026, and World Rugby is due to name its preferred host in May 2027.
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