Reports have emerged this week indicating that the Saudi royal family is eyeing a takeover of Inter. It’s reported however, that this is not another Saudi sovereign wealth fund purchase (the Public Investment Fund), albeit there have been PIF links to Inter in the past. The PIC currently owns Premier League club Newcastle United.
Rather, the reports suggest, the Saudi royal family is aiming for support from private investors. This is not the first time seeing the Saudi football administrators showing interest in owning football clubs in Europe. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, officially completed his takeover of Spanish football club Almeria in 2019.
According to Spanish paper Marca at the time, Almeria was sold to Turki Alalshikh in a deal carrying a price tag of around €20 million ($22.26 million). Almeria survived the relegation battle by a solid point in the 2022/2023 Spanish La Liga season. And this season looks bleak for rojiblancos as they have only managed to win one match out of 31 and are sitting stone last on Laliga with only 14 points to show.
It seems that only a miracle will save the Saudi-owned team if they are to survive the drop to the second division of Spanish football. As far as InterMilan is concerned, the rumour out there is that the main factor contributing to uncertainty around Suning’s future at Inter is the sizeable loan that they still owe to Oaktree Capital. The due date for that loan to be paid is the twentieth of next month.
If Suning defaults on the loan, their shares in Inter will pass into the hands of Oaktree, which gives the Nerazzurri owners just over a month to find a way to avoid that. According to Italian outlet Repubblica, a family from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken interest in the Serie A side and is considering a takeover. Who doesn’t want to buy a team that is about to lift the scudetto?
Inter could quite possibly seal their twentieth ‘Scudetto’ on April 22nd at San Siro, in a true ‘Derby della Madonnina’ against Milan, a golden opportunity to lift a historic title that has never happened in a match between Inter and Milan. Both the Saudi Public Investment Fund and a family from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be watching the developments with keen interest.
If you ask me, there is no smoke without fire and soon you will see the burning flames. Suning.com Co., Ltd., formerly Suning Commerce Group Co., Ltd., is one of the largest non-government retailers in China, headquartered in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Suning has more than 10,000 stores nationwide and its e-commerce platform, Suning.com ranks amongst the top three Chinese B2C companies.
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