Saudi Arabian investors are in discussions to invest millions into four of England’s top-flight rugby clubs. Telegraph Sport can reveal that associates of the Saudi sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF), which took an 80 per cent stake of the Premier League’s Newcastle United in 2021, have held discussions with Gloucester, Leicester Tigers,

Northampton Saints and Newcastle Falcons about proposed seven-figure investments. It is understood that the group are seeking control of stadium naming rights and the establishment of a rugby academy in Saudi Arabia as part of any potential stake in the four clubs, an investment which could be worth as much as a combined £60 million to the clubs involved.

Rugby Football Union’s regulations regarding club ownership state that any change of 10 per cent or less does not require consent from the governing body. Alongside Premiership Rugby Limited, the organisation could block a group from owning more than 10 per cent of more than one club in the league, too, while under European Professional Club Rugby regulations, no two clubs can be owned by a solitary body with more than a 20 per cent stake.

Read the full story at The Telegraph