Who is Yasir Al-Rumayyan? Newcastle United chief’s role explained

Newcastle United’s £300 million ($408m) takeover means that Magpies fans will be seeing a lot of new faces at St James’ Park during matchdays.

One of the most prominent of these, aside from whichever new transfer signings arrive, is Yasir Al-Rumayyan and he was given a rousing reception by the Toon Army during the first game of the new era.

TV cameras showed him seated next to Amanda Staveley and other figures who worked behind the scenes to get the takeover across the line, but who is he? Goal brings you all you need to know.

Who is Yasir Al-Rumayyan?

Yasir Al-Rumayyan is the Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – one of the key players in the Magpies takeover – and was instated as the new chairman of Newcastle United in October 2021.

Educated at King Faisal and Harvard Business School, Al-Rumayyan has been Governor of the PIF since 2017, having previously served as Managing Director since 2015.

As well as being the chairman of Newcastle and Governor of the PIF, he serves on a number of other boards, including Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, Uber, Softbank Group and Reliance Industries.

Al-Rumayyan worked extensively in the banking and investment sector prior to his appointment to the PIF.

What is Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s role at Newcastle United?

Al-Rumayyan is a non-executive chairman at Newcastle, with Amanda Staveley and Jamie Reuben forming a three-person board presiding over the direction of the club going forward.

The Saudi businessman’s other roles are likely to mean that his visits to St James’ Park will be sporadic, but he is known to be a keen sport lover so his presence at games will be no surprise either.

However, Al-Rumayyan has suggested that he and PIF will be more in the background of affairs on Tyneside, devising strategies amid other behind-the-scenes dealings.

“Our job is to look at the bigger picture,” he explained shortly after the takeover of the Premier League club was completed. 

The moment Yasir Al-Rumayyan is introduced to Newcastle United fans | #NUFC pic.twitter.com/fCsYUiZP7E

— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) October 17, 2021

“So we will be working with the rest of the board to set the overall strategy, monitor how that is progressing and determine the changes we need to make.

“You will hear from us less often, but I can assure you that we will always be actively engaged.”

What is Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s net worth?

Details regarding Al-Rumayyan’s net worth are not clear and information regarding the Saudi businessman’s personal wealth are scant online.

A number of sources erroneously conflate Al-Rumayyan’s worth with that of the PIF, which stands at approximately £315 billion ($430 bn).

The PIF, of course, is a sovereign wealth enterprise, whose chairman is Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

Al-Rumayyan’s role is to help manage the investment of that wealth as part of the country’s 2030 Vision, which seeks to diversify the national economy.