Thread by @NoSaudiToon

As these quotes from an article in the Athletic make clear, #NUFC chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan is very much part of the Saudi regime.

“He works for a guy,” (MbS) “He has a lot of money and can do certain things he wants. But he’s a courtier.”

theathletic.com/4343985/2023/0…

"The joy on Al-Rumayyan’s face was evident. This was a new kingdom, one outside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he serves as right-hand man to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, one of the world’s most powerful and controversial rulers."

“He is the technocrat given the responsibility of putting Bin Salman’s vision into practice,” says one Saudi-based expert, speaking anonymously for his own security. “But remember, if he doesn’t deliver, Bin Salman is not going to blame himself.”

Enter Al-Rumayyan. One month after King Abdullah’s death, the banker was invited to join the Royal Court — an advisory board sitting separately to the formal government apparatus but typically with more power than the ministries.

Tasked with providing the court with decision-making data, he entered Bin Salman’s orbit.

“But a major criterion was loyalty, just as much as meritocracy. In regimes which are one-man shows, like Saudi Arabia, it’s a trend to take people from relative obscurity and build them up very quickly. It ensures their loyalty won’t swerve.

There’s no rival power they’re connected to. They owe their meteoric rise entirely to you.”

Al-Rumayyan might appear powerful. He is also disposable.

“He works for a guy,” says Scheck. “He has a lot of money and can do certain things he wants. But he’s a courtier.”

Al-Rumayyan has managed to weather these potentially embarrassing incidents because he’s loyal, and MBS trusts him.”

PIF claims Al-Rumayyan has sovereign immunity as a member of the Saudi government — a statement which, in turn, led to a minor storm due to assurances received by the Premier League that Newcastle were not state-controlled.

@premierleague needs to revisit their decision....