Muhammad bin Salman: Where did so much money come from in the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and what are its sources of income?
English football club Newcastle United's معاہ 300 million sale deal has been welcomed globally by the club's supporters.
But some football fans are concerned about Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's involvement in the deal due to its history of human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia.
But some people may not be aware that the products they are using are funded under the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Disney, Uber, Facebook and Starbucks are some of the companies that have received hundreds of millions of pounds through the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Saudi Arabia's PIF fund owns 80% of the football club Newcastle United.
How does Saudi Arabia's PIF have so much money?
The Saudi Public Investment Fund is, in fact, the Saudi government's official savings account. It makes millions of dollars from the oil that Saudi Arabia sells to the rest of the world. But oil will not last forever and this government fund needs to find new ways to make money.
"He (Saudi Arabia) is trying to diversify its economy by removing its dependence on oil and gas revenues," said Simon Chadwick, director of Eurasian sports at the Emline Business School and a socio-economics professor.
"They want to create another source of income that will reduce the Saudi economy's dependence on oil revenues."
Where has Saudi Arabia invested through PIF?
You may have heard of many such companies. Saudi Arabia's public investment fund has invested in major brands and companies, including Disney, Uber, Facebook, Starbucks and the world's largest pharmaceutical company Pfizer.
But Simon believes PIF also intends to invest heavily in wind power in northeast England." One of the things that is very interesting is that Reuben Brothers, the second owner of Newcastle United, is also investing heavily in renewable energy projects," he said.
"Owning a football club makes it easier to build relationships with key partners," he says.
He said the company would work on building wind energy farms in Port of Tyne and coastal areas. "If you think about it in the long run, these assets become a way to make money," he says.
But why is it controversial?
The head of Saudi Arabia's public investment fund is 36-year-old Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who runs his father's government in the kingdom.
He is accused of ordering the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Jamal Khashoggi was a fierce critic of the Saudi government's policies.
According to a 2019 UN report, "the state of Saudi Arabia is responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi."
The Saudi government has always denied the allegations.
At the same time, Muhammad bin Salman has tried to show that he is a reformist ruler in a very conservative empire. He has allowed women to drive, which was not the case before he came to power.
The Premier League approved the ownership of Newcastle United after receiving "legal guarantees" that it would not interfere in the affairs of the Newcastle United club.
The transfer, worth a total of ین 300 million, is part of a total investment in Saudi Arabia's state-owned PIF fund. Its total investment is in the hundreds of billions of pounds.
What is sports washing?
Some people say that limited investment in big companies is not the same as buying a majority stake in a Premier League football club.
You may have heard the term 'sports washing' after the criticism of this agreement. Countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have recently been accused of owning the Man City and Paris Saint-Germain clubs, respectively.
Amnesty International says some countries are investing in sports to divert attention from their poor human rights record.
The human rights group called Saudi Arabia's mistreatment of women, its use of the death penalty and its anti-gay stance in the country "examples of poor human rights."