Well-informed sources affirmed that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, headed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), considered an attempt to add Formula 1 motor racing to its growing portfolio of sports investments.
The PIF, which funds LIV Golf and owns Premier League team Newcastle, valued F1 at well above $20 billion, including debt.
Liberty Media bought F1 for $4.4 billion in 2017 and wasn’t interested in selling.
However, the Saudi fund remains interested and could be a formidable suitor for F1 if Liberty Media reverses its stance.
Saudi Sportswashing Policy
Over the past years, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has successfully purchased England’s Newcastle United soccer team after 18 months of protracted disputes.
The takeover of Newcastle United in a $408 million deal has been widely condemned by human rights institutions as a new attempt to whitewash the Saudi poor human rights record.
The rights groups charged that the Saudi regime is using high-profile international sporting events in a bid to bolster its reputation, including boxing, motorsport, and golf high profile events.
“The Public Investment Fund is not separate from the state, and the Saudi ruler is responsible for the fund and sits at its head and uses it directly to maintain power,” said Nabhan Al-Hanashi, the acting director of the London-based ALQST.
“The Saudi monarchy uses football to hide its horrific record, and everyone should be appalled,” he added.
For its part, Amnesty International has highlighted its ongoing concerns over human rights abuses in the Gulf state having voiced its objections during the sale process, with particular reference to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s chief executive, said: “Though a lot has changed in the past year at Newcastle United, things have only got worse in Saudi Arabia and with every fixture the club is still being used to help sportswash Saudi Arabia’s shocking human rights record.
Saudi Arabia is regularly criticised by human rights groups for its detention and torture of political opponents and for its intervention in the military conflict in Yemen, which has led to thousands of civilian deaths.
The murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018 also led to worldwide outrage.
Despite the domestic and global difficult economic crisis and its involvement in Yemen’s war, Saudi Crown Prince MBS spent an insane amount of money in one game or company’s ecosystem.
Over the last three years, he spent a combined $69,494 and counting on the Battle Pass alone, with $42,100 of that coming from 2018. He has been the top contributor in each of those years and set a record by reaching Level 175,000 in 2017.
The new findings sparked large criticism on social media, where online activists accused the gamer prince of being also addicted to cocaine.
Others linked his brutal crackdown in the Kingdom with his addiction to video games.
