Latest news with #Saudis
Scottish Sun
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Man Utd identify £70m ex-Premier League star as Bruno Fernandes replacement if captain leaves for Al-Hilal
RUBEN AMORIM will make a £70million swoop for Pedro Goncalves - if Bruno Fernandes heads for Saudi Arabia. But Manchester United's hopes of landing the Sporting Lisbon prize guy could be scuppered if the Portuguese club sell Viktor Gyokeres first. Advertisement 2 Pedro Gonçalves played under Ruben Amorim at Sporting Credit: Getty 2 Bruno Fernandes has been linked with a Saudi switch Credit: PA United skipper Fernandes has until Friday to tell Al-Hilal if he is up for a move to the Middle East, and the Saudis are ready to pay £100m if they get the thumbs up. And if Fernandes does take the plunge on a three-year deal, the cash-strapped Reds could afford Goncalves – also known as Pote - with money to spare. Manager Amorim would still prefer to keep his captain, and insisted he was confident of doing so after United's post-season trip to Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. But he is equally aware that a salary of more than £1m a WEEK is hugely tempting for Fernandes. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL TOUR DE FARCE Inside Man Utd Asia tour including fan clashes and champagne vending machine And the Old Trafford money men know they will hit the jackpot by banking such a fee for a man who turns 31 a month into next season. Goncalves, 26, had two years at Wolves as a teenager, but returned to Portugal without playing a game. Amorim took him to Lisbon from Famalicao six years ago, transforming him into a more attacking midfielder who can also play wide. Goncalves, who hit 23 goals as Sporting ended a 19-year title drought in 2021, missed five months of last season with a ruptured thigh muscle. Advertisement BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK But he returned in April and scored in the final day victory over Vitoria which clinched the Portuguese championship again. Goncalves is also on Aston Villa's wish list, but United believe his relationship with Amorim puts them in pole position. Ruben Amorim bursts out laughing when asked about Man Utd star's future The biggest stumbling block could arise if Arsenal or Napoli can seal an early deal for £67m-rated striker Gyokeres, as Sporting would be unwilling to cash in on two of their star men. Advertisement But the Portuguese side will land a £5m-plus jackpot if Fernandes heads to the Middle East, thanks to a clause giving them ten percent of any profit United make on their skipper. Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
USA Today
5 hours ago
- Business
- USA Today
Lynch: Prepare for posturing on anniversary of Framework Agreement that already achieved its goal
Lynch: Prepare for posturing on anniversary of Framework Agreement that already achieved its goal Friday marks two years since the announcement of the Framework Agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, and all one can say about the passage of time is that it has proven the truth of John Irving's elegiac observation about how 'the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses.' The two men who conceived the accord (Ed Herlihy and Jimmy Dunne) have thrown their last fists in this scuffle, having exited the Tour's Policy Board. One of its three signatories (Keith Pelley) has departed the DP World Tour, while another (Jay Monahan) has had his authority as Tour commissioner hog-tied by players and investors. Only the PIF governor, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, remains as he was on June 6, 2023, right down to the libertine spending for chaste returns. The Framework Agreement predicted a definitive deal between the parties by the end of '23, but those privy to the process say none is imminent, Al-Rumayyan having been radio silent for three months. Which means apologists and propagandists will maintain their industrious output of the past 720-odd days, mitigating or touting every twist in the narrative. This promises to be a week in which both the Tour and PIF (by way of its LIV proxies) insist that the clock ticking over into a third year is much worse for the other side. In truth, it's not good for either. A year ago, even loyalists were tempted to short the Tour's stock. LIV was still spending and had poached Jon Rahm; broadcast ratings were sinking; sponsors were antsy at best, and leaving in some cases; tournaments were unhappily adjusting to a scheduling caste system and weakened fields; the investors of Strategic Sports Group were demanding efficiencies in a corporate structure unaccustomed to accountability; players were complaining because, well, because there was oxygen available. The organization appeared highly incentivized to reach a deal with the Saudis. Today, the Tour has regained some swagger. LIV's biggest signing since Rahm was a YouTube influencer; TV ratings have improved; multiple sponsors have re-upped; tournaments have mostly stabilized, though there remain too many events with fields so diluted that one almost expects Brandel Chamblee to get a start; the GloHo survived its (first) round of budget cuts; players are still … It's an organization with little incentive to cut a deal, other than wanting cash and the return of a handful of players, most of whom will be free agents anyway by the time a new structure would be implemented. What the PGA Tour lacks — other than fan-friendly information transparency on everything from equipment testing to drug testing to disciplinary matters — is clarity on its future. Which is breeding a damaging perception that its product is incomplete, that it is searching for a missing puzzle piece it doesn't actually need. That clarity won't come until the Tour's board delivers a definitive 'No sir!' to Yasir. And LIV? It isn't judged by the same commercial standards as its rival. Television ratings are negligible, but no one cares; sponsors are scarce, but everyone gets a discount at Freddy's Frozen Custard; budgets are for actual businesses, not hostage-taking enterprises; player dissent is contractually forbidden, so they applaud themselves with the forced enthusiasm of the North Korean politburo when Comrade Un is scanning the room. As June 6 nears, LIV will need its online incels to manufacture a sentiment that it must still be taken seriously, despite all evidence to the contrary. Scott O'Neil will soon reach six months as LIV's CEO and will be keen to show that his shop is open for business, ready for a fresh round of recruiting and commercially stable (an audacious claim when your regulatory filings show that you've flushed north of $5 billion, but the Great White Pilot Fish can carry the can for that). Perhaps new partnerships will materialize — maybe a broadening of the deal that put Salesforce logos on some LIV players at the PGA Championship, or a financial institution eager to expand its interests in the Kingdom, or a company that counts PIF as a valued investor. Marriages of convenience that — like LIV's broadcast arrangement with Fox Sports — are less a vote of confidence in the product than a means to pursuing some greater prize. While the key parties posture around June 6, there'll be earnest hand-wringing in some quarters about the urgency to deliver on the Framework Agreement, which ignores the fact that its promise has already been realized. That accord was only ever intended to end the expensive and reputationally hazardous litigation. It succeeded in that. The two years since have merely been a squabble over who gets to write the epilogue.
Mint
8 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
OPEC+ hikes oil output supply for third straight month by 4,11,000 bpd: Brent crude outlook weakens to $67 in 2025
OPEC+ agreed to hike July oil output by 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) on Saturday, the same as in May and June, after the group of oil-producing countries looks to grab back market share and punish over-producing members. According to Reuters, eight OPEC+ members of the group are unwinding 2.2 million bpd in voluntary curbs they imposed on top of earlier cuts. Hence, OPEC agreed to surge oil output by 411,000 barrels a day for the third month in a row, doubling down on a historic policy shift that has sent crude prices sinking. Key nations led by Saudi Arabia agreed during a video-conference on Saturday to add that amount to the market in July, according to delegates. The hike follows equally sized increases scheduled for May and June, which broke with years of efforts by the group to support global oil prices and dragged crude to a four-year low. OPEC+ includes OPEC members and allies such as Russia. They began their current round of output increases in April. While the eight are raising supply, some of them are being asked to temper those increases to compensate for overproducing in past months. Kazakhstan had said on Thursday that it would not cut production, prompting speculation that OPEC+ might go for a July increase larger than 411,000 bpd. Oil prices fell to a four-year low in April, slipping below $60 per barrel after OPEC+ said it was tripling its output hike in May and as U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs raised concerns about global economic weakness. Prices closed just below $63 on Friday. According to Bloomberg, Russia recommended a pause in the supply increases during discussions, delegates said, asking not to be named because the information was private. Oil briefly crashed below $60 a barrel in April after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies first announced that they would bolster output by triple the scheduled amount, even as faltering demand and US President Donald Trump's trade war were already crushing the market. Futures have since recovered to near $64 in London. Officials have suggested the kingdom is trying to appease President Trump, or to reclaim the market share relinquished to US shale drillers and other rivals. Some assert that OPEC is simply satisfying robust demand, while others say Saudi Arabia seeks to punish members like Kazakhstan and Iraq for cheating on their output quotas. The ultimate motive may combine several of these objectives. The strategy transition hasn't been without a cost. While crude's pullback offers relief for consumers and central banks grappling with stubborn inflation, it poses financial peril for oil producers in OPEC and around the world. While Brent futures are trading near $64 a barrel, the International Monetary Fund estimates the Saudis need prices above $90 to cover the lavish spending plans of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom is contending with a soaring budget deficit, and has been forced to cut investment on flagship projects such as the futuristic city, Neom Most analysts have revised down their oil price forecasts for the third consecutive month as swelling OPEC+ supply and lingering uncertainty around the impact of trade disputes on fuel demand weigh on prices, a Reuters poll showed. According to Reuters, a survey of 40 economists and analysts in May forecasts Brent crude will average $66.98 per barrel in 2025, down from April's $68.98 forecast, while U.S. crude is seen at $63.35, below last month's $65.08 estimate. Prices have averaged roughly $71.08 and $67.56 so far this year respectively, as per LSEG data. Meanwhile, analysts polled by Reuters expect global oil demand to grow by an average of 775,000 barrels per day in 2025, with many pointing to elevated trade uncertainty and the risk of economic slowdown as key concerns. This compares to the 740,000 bpd 2025 average demand growth forecast from the International Energy Agency earlier this month.
CairoScene
16 hours ago
- Business
- CairoScene
Minimum Age for Housing Support in Saudi Arabia Lowered to 20
These reforms aim to expand access to housing support for young Saudis and divorced women while tightening accountability rules. Saudi Arabia has lowered the minimum age for housing support eligibility from 25 to 20, in order to increase homeownership amongst younger citizens. The decision, approved by the Council of Ministers, is part of a broader set of reforms designed to expand access to housing and financing options across the country. The reforms extend to divorced women, who will now be eligible for housing support without needing to meet previous financial dependency requirements. Additionally, the two-year waiting period previously imposed on divorced women is being revised to allow more immediate access. The measures also reduce the mandatory holding period for housing support assets from 10 years to five, giving beneficiaries greater flexibility in reselling or transferring properties. At the same time, new accountability provisions have been introduced to prevent misuse of the system. Penalties have been tightened for those who submit false or misleading information in housing support applications. Under the updated rules, authorities are now empowered to reclaim any form of housing subsidy—whether financial aid, land, or residential units—if misrepresentation is discovered. The Saudi Housing Program (Sakani), which administers many of the country's housing initiatives, has reported a 64% homeownership rate and a 90% beneficiary satisfaction rate. These reforms are expected to build on that progress by widening the pool of eligible citizens and improving equity in access to state-supported housing. Applications under the new eligibility criteria will open once regulatory procedures are finalised and officially announced.
Shafaq News
a day ago
- Business
- Shafaq News
Riyadh warns Tehran: Accept US deal or face Israeli military action
Shafaq News/ Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister urged Tehran to accept US President Donald Trump's offer to resume nuclear negotiations, warning that failure to do so could provoke an Israeli military response, sources told Reuters. Prince Khalid bin Salman delivered the message during a closed-door meeting on April 17 in Tehran with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, marking the most senior Saudi delegation to Iran in more than two decades. According to sources, Prince Khalid emphasized that Trump is seeking a fast-track agreement, cautioning that a breakdown in diplomacy could trigger Israeli military action, further destabilizing a region already strained by conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. In response, Iranian officials expressed willingness to negotiate to ease sanctions, but voiced concern over Washington's unpredictable approach—citing past shifts from accepting limited enrichment to demanding full dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program. A source revealed Pezeshkian's stance: while Iran seeks a resolution, it would not sacrifice its enrichment rights to meet US deadlines. Meanwhile, Gulf officials said the Saudi envoy urged Iran to reconsider its regional strategy, particularly in light of Israeli operations that have weakened its allies—Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Syria's al-Assad regime. 'The Saudis want stability,' said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center. 'They're using diplomacy to protect their economic ambitions.' Nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran have stalled despite five rounds of indirect negotiations. According to sources cited by Reuters, Tehran may consider halting enrichment in exchange for access to frozen assets and recognition of its civilian nuclear rights, but Iranian authorities publicly denied such a proposal.
