Saudi soccer signals change, selling team to U.S. investor group

For the first time, a Saudi soccer team has been acquired by a foreign investor.

The Saudi Pro League’s Al-Kholood club was bought by the Harburg Group, a business founded by American private equity investor Ben Harburg, for an undisclosed price.

The sale to a foreign group represents a change in Saudi Arabia, which has invested heavily in European soccer and spent hundreds of millions of dollars poaching foreign players, including Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The kingdom’s Ministry of Sport announced two other soccer team acquisitions on Thursday: The Al-Zulfi club was sold to Riyadh-based Nojoom AlSalam Co. and Medina-based Al-Ansar was acquired by Awdah Al Biladi and his Sons Contracting Ltd.