O’Neil insisted in his message to the staff that it was business as usual and that “our season continues at full throttle”. However, after previously claiming that PIF had assured finance until at least 2032, O’Neil this time did not mention a timeline. But it is understood that in private, it was revealed that this funding has only been confirmed for the remaining eight events of this year.
There has been conjecture that O’Neil and his management group would then have to seek backing from other sources. And considering the huge outlays by PIF and the minimal returns so far, that would paint a bleak picture for LIV’s long-term future.
This speculation was only elevated by the comments of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the LIV chairman, who is also the PIF governor as well as the Newcastle United chairman. Asked by Saudi-owned television channel Al Arabiya if the Iran war would affect the PIF’s investments, he replied that it had reviewed “all investments and deals because of war or other reasons”.
“I can’t tell you I will cancel this investment or get into another investment,” he added. “It is a dynamic [situation] with or without war. But of course the war would add more pressure to reposition some priorities.”