The Saudi Public Investment Fund considered acquiring an Italian team, but they had some issues with Serie A. Amanda Staveley, who is the CEO of their partners PCP and now co-owns Newcastle, told The Telegraph: “We talked to Inter and Milan, but the problem was that the structure of the league was a mess. We looked briefly at Bordeaux. But we no longer have an interest.”
Serie A president Paolo Dal Pino responded during an event organized by RCS Academy: “If Mrs. Staveley prefers to invest in Newcastle rather than in Inter or Milan, then she favors hatchbacks over Formula One cars. Eight foreign ownerships believe in our project. I think that coming to Italy is a great opportunity because of the huge untapped potential of the league.”
“Despite the lack of funds from the government, Serie A clubs have put together projects to either build new stadiums or renovate their current ones. They will pour €2.5B into them. I would have invested a lower sum in something that could be worth €30B in 5 or 6 years rather than put all my money in a championship whose value is €17B now but could easily decrease over time.”
“It is up to us to create the right situations to flourish, not only for Italian entrepreneurs but also to attract those from abroad. I wish PM Mario Draghi helped us out because football can concretely contribute to the growth of the GDP. The relationship between Serie A and politicians is tricky at the moment.”