25 June 2023 , 14:56
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Saudi Arabia is continuing its bid to dominate the sporting landscape after holding positive talks with the ATP Tour.
Its chairman, Andrea Gaudenzi, had been in dialogue with the country's Public Investment Fund (PIF). The Kingdom has already flexed its financial muscles and is having a huge influence in football and golf with tennis potentially being the next sport on their list.
The ATP's End of Season finals, which features the top eight players in the world, could be set for a move to Jeddah when its current Milan contract expires, but leading lights in Saudi Arabia seemingly want even more influence.
According to the Financial Times, Gaudenzi has held discussions with the PIF and other potential investors, but made it known that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund would have to work with a current stakeholder and “stick to respecting the history of the sport and the product."
He also added: “You have to preserve something which is almost sacred, the rules of the game. This is not a video game, this is not a movie.” This is the first time the men's tour has acknowledged talks with the Middle Eastern nation.
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Saudi Arabia has become a major player in golf over the past year before an agreement was eventually struck to bring some harmony back to the sport. The LIV Tour, funded by the PIF, threw huge sums at players, which eventually saw them withdraw from the PGA Tour and cop fines from the DP World Tour after jumping ship.
ATP chief have held talks with Saudi ArabiaAn agreement has recently come about, which will allow the three tours to co-exist, but the damage done looks to be permanent, at least between the current leading lights in the sport.
Meanwhile, in football, this summer's transfer window has seen Premier League sides have to resist huge sums from Saudi Arabia as they look to grow their domestic league by bringing in some major names. Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al-Nassr back in January after his sudden departure from Manchester United.
Several weeks ago Karim Benzema announced his departure from Real Madrid as the current Ballon d'Or holder moved to the Middle East. N'Golo Kante has also moved from Chelsea on a free whilst Ruben Neves has left Wolves for a club-record fee.
Other major names like Bernardo Silva have reportedly been the subject of huge offers with Gary Neville calling for an embargo on transfers to Saudi Arabia. "The Premier League should put an instant embargo on transfers to Saudi Arabia to ensure the integrity of the game isn't being damaged," Neville told BBC Sport. "Checks should be made on the appropriateness of the transactions."