Al Hilal owner Alwaleed bin Talal weighs final step in Saudi football shake-up

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is expected to seek 100% ownership of Al Hilal, a move that would make the Riyadh club the first major supporter-based Saudi Arabian team to be transferred entirely into private ownership.

The prediction was made by Saudi sports broadcaster Walid Al Faraj after the Ministry of Sport announced that its 25% stakes in the country’s four biggest clubs – Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli – had been transferred to the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company, acquired 70% of Al Hilal in April under a binding agreement signed between Kingdom Holding Company and the Saudi PIF. The latest ownership changes could now provide an opportunity for him to pursue the remaining 30% of the club.

Al Faraj said he expected Alwaleed bin Talal to request an increase in his holding to the full 100%, which would make Al Hilal the first Saudi club with a large established fan base to be wholly owned privately.

“Following the Ministry of Sport’s exit from its 25% stake in the clubs, it is expected that Prince Alwaleed bin Talal will request to acquire the remaining stake in Al Hilal and become the first Saudi club to be fully acquired,” Al Faraj said.

The comments were made on his programme Rotana Sport with Walid, broadcast by Rotana Khalijia, a channel primarily owned by Alwaleed bin Talal. That connection has added significance to the prediction, although no formal announcement has been made that the prince will make a bid for the remaining shares.

The Ministry of Sport’s decision to transfer its interests in the four leading clubs to the PIF represents the latest stage in Saudi Arabia’s restructuring of football ownership.

Al Hilal is currently the only one of the four major clubs to have left the direct ownership framework of the PIF. There is an expectation that Al Nassr, Al Ittihad and Al Ahli could follow the same path in the period ahead.

The changes form part of a wider ownership process involving Saudi Arabia’s leading clubs, with the four teams having previously been identified as the principal clubs connected to the country’s football investment programme.

For Al Hilal, however, the next possible move would be particularly significant. If Alwaleed bin Talal were to obtain the remaining stake, the club would become fully privately owned rather than sharing ownership between a private investor and a state-backed entity.

It remains unclear when any request for the final 30% could be made, or whether it would be approved. For now, Al Faraj’s comments point to a possible historic development for Al Hilal and Saudi football, following the transfer of the Ministry of Sport’s minority stakes.