沙特阿拉伯主权财富基金正动用其投资组合公司偿还足球俱乐部利雅得胜利所持有的8亿里亚尔（约合2.13亿美元）债务 — — 这家俱乐部是葡萄牙球星克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多的效力球队，知情人士透露。
The Scoop Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is tapping its portfolio companies to pay off 800 million riyals ($213 million) of debt held by the soccer club Al Nassr — where star Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo plays — according to people familiar with the matter.
知情人士表示，公共投资基金（PIF）正在策划企业赞助协议，以加强沙特职业足球联赛俱乐部的资产负债表，这将有助于促成由AC米兰所有者红鸟资本领导的投资者收购。
Public Investment Fund (PIF) is orchestrating corporate sponsorship deals to strengthen the Saudi Pro League club’s balance sheet, which would help facilitate a sale to investors led by AC Milan owner RedBird Capital, these people said.
一位熟悉该基金的人士称红鸟的兴趣“尚处于早期阶段”，并警告称可能无法达成协议。知情人士称，红鸟已就收购该俱乐部70%股权与PIF举行了至少两次会谈。
One person close to the fund described RedBird’s interest as “early” and cautioned that a deal might not be reached. RedBird has held at least two meetings with PIF about taking a 70% stake in the team, the people said.
红鸟及其合作伙伴预计将支付约10亿里亚尔（约合2.67亿美元）以获得该股权，而罗纳尔多本人预计将持有20%的股份。其他潜在投资者可能包括总部位于利雅得的私营媒体、体育和娱乐公司沙特媒体公司（SMC）。知情人士表示，最终条款尚未敲定，仍可能发生变化。
RedBird and its partners would pay about 1 billion riyals ($267 million) for the stake, with Ronaldo himself expected to hold a 20% share. Other investors could include the privately held, Riyadh-based media, sports, and entertainment firm Saudi Media Company (SMC). Final terms have not been agreed upon and could still change, they said.
红鸟和PIF拒绝置评。利雅得胜利及罗纳尔多的代表未能立即回应置评请求。此前，《阿什拉格彭博》曾报道红鸟正领导一个财团，就收购该俱乐部股权进行谈判。
RedBird and PIF declined to comment. Al Nassr and Ronaldo’s representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Asharq Bloomberg previously reported that RedBird was leading a consortium in talks to buy a stake in the club.
了解更多：收购利雅得胜利将有助于红鸟资本创始人杰里·卡尔迪纳勒与全球最具市场价值的运动员之一克里斯蒂亚诺·罗纳尔多加强联系。罗纳尔多的投资公司CR7持有西班牙第二级别联赛俱乐部阿尔梅里亚25%的股份，而该俱乐部得到了SMC的支持。
Know More Acquiring Al Nassr would help Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird strengthen ties with Ronaldo, one of the world’s most marketable athletes, whose investment firm, CR7, holds a 25% stake in UD Almeria, a club in Spain’s second division backed by SMC.
红鸟资本于2022年收购了AC米兰，目前管理约210亿美元资产，近年来凭借参与天舞、派拉蒙和华纳兄弟探索等高调媒体并购的融资，建立起了作为重要媒体和体育经纪人的声誉。
RedBird, which bought AC Milan in 2022 and manages roughly $21 billion, has built a reputation as a major media and sports broker, most recently financing high-profile media mergers involving Skydance, Paramount, and Warner Bros. Discovery.
收购阿尔纳斯尔将使红鸟成为沙特阿拉伯价值数十亿美元的体育扩张计划的核心，该计划在政府开始削减开支之前一直在快速推进。沙特王国一直利用体育交易和举办赛事来推广自身形象，并鼓励国内民众采取更积极的生活方式。但在这项努力上投入了数十亿美元之后，现在需要外国投资者的帮助，以扭转亏损的足球俱乐部以及分裂的LIV高尔夫赛事的局面。
Buying Al Nassr would put RedBird at the center of Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion-dollar sports expansion, which had been on a tear before the government began cutting back on spending. The kingdom has used sports deals and hosted competitions to promote itself and encourage more active lifestyles at home. But after pouring billions of dollars into the effort, it now needs foreign investors to help turn around loss-making soccer clubs and the breakaway LIV Golf tournament.
沙特阿拉伯在2023年花费约9亿美元收购了C罗、内马尔 Jr.和卡里姆·本泽马等足坛巨星，以提升其联赛在国际上的知名度。政府将多家足球俱乐部的所有权转移给了PIF及其他国有企业，为俱乐部私有化做准备。这一努力的首个成果今年已见分晓：PIF在8月将利雅得俱乐部阿尔希拉尔70%的股份出售给了王国控股公司——即亿万富翁王子阿尔瓦利德·本·塔勒尔的投资公司，该交易使俱乐部的估值约为14亿里亚尔。
Saudi Arabia spent around $900 million in 2023 buying up soccer’s biggest players like Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., and Karim Benzema in order to raise the profile of the kingdom’s league internationally. The government transferred ownership of several soccer clubs to PIF and other state-controlled companies to prepare the teams for privatization. The first fruit of that effort came this year when PIF sold a 70% stake in Riyadh-based club Al Hilal in August to Kingdom Holding, the investment company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal — a deal that valued the club at about 1.4 billion riyals.
知情人士透露，如果最终达成，阿尔纳斯尔的新所有者表示，加入更广泛的财团将使球队能够降低成本，并利用红鸟及SMC投资组合旗下其他公司的媒体和营销合作伙伴关系。他们还希望提升俱乐部在美国的知名度。
If finalized, people close to Al Nassr’s new owners say being part of a wider consortium would allow the team to cut costs and tap media and marketing partnerships with other RedBird and SMC portfolio companies. They also want to boost the club’s profile in the US.
值得注意的是，尽管外界期望值很高，但沙特联赛内部人士表示，成功意味着达到荷兰俱乐部的水平，而非欧洲顶级豪门。他们希望通过加强国内竞争，帮助培养沙特人才，为2034年世界杯做准备，Camilla Wright在Semafor的一篇专栏中如此写道。
Notable Despite lofty expectations, Saudi league insiders say success means standards comparable to Dutch clubs rather than Europe’s elite. They hope stronger domestic competition will help develop Saudi talent ahead of the 2034 World Cup, Camilla Wright writes in a column for Semafor.