Earlier this month, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman bought Newcastle United for around £300 million, making the Premier League side one of the richest in the world.
However, it seems as though the new Newcastle owners want to also dip their toes into owning a club in South America. According to TyC Sports (via TNT Sports Brazil), Salman wants to purchase Brazilian side Cruzeiro Esporte Clube.
Furthermore, the report details that Salman maintains good ties with President Jair Bolsonaro and is interested in controlling clubs in South America, primarily in Brazil.
TyC Sports also reports that the prince targets European clubs such as Inter Milan and Olympique de Marseille. Both are currently facing economic crises, as well as Cruzeiro.
This is the type of blueprint that Manchester City owners, City Football Group, have developed. They own multiple clubs on different continents, such as North and South America, whose crown jewel is the Premier League side.
One imagines this won’t have too much of an impact on things at Newcastle, so their fans needn’t be concerned, but it perhaps paints a worrying picture for the future of football as a whole.
How long before most clubs in every part of the world are all owned by a handful of wealthy individuals, or even funded by states, such as the likes of City, Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain.