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14th December 2025
04:03pm GMT
Saudi Arabian leader Mohamed Bin Salman is reportedly interested in purchasing one of European football's superclubs.
The Crown Prince of the Gulf state is known to have a vested interest in various forms of global sport already, having increased his country's involvement in the hosting of boxing matches and Formula 1 events since becoming Prime Minister in 2022.
This also goes for football, with the local Saudi Pro League having grown exponentially since the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Al Nassr two years ago.
The nation's growing interest in the world's game comes as Saudi Arabia is set to host a World Cup next decade.
It now appears that ahead of hosting the monumental tournament, Bin Salman plans to gain further influence over European football.
According to a groundbreaking report from Spanish journalist Francois Gallardo, Bin Salman has an interest in purchasing Barcelona.
The legendary La Liga side, and former home to Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo Nazario, are said to have a market value of $5.6 billion.
While the club's status cannot be underestimated, Barcelona have struggled with financial issues of late, and are said to currently have debts totalling more than €2 billion.
Should Bin Salman move to purchase the club, these would likely need taking into account before significant investments can be made at Camp Nou.
The deal is further complicated by the ownership model currently in place at Barcelona.
The Catalan giants are owned by "socios", which are fan members, rather than a single majority shareholder.
Socios vote for the the club's President, who then makes footballing decisions. As a result, it isn't currently possible for an investor to take over control of the club through a purchase alone.
It remains to be seen how this issue would be bypassed.
Neither of Barcelona nor Bin Salman have yet to comment on the rumoured sale.
