The pink jersey, the pink jersey, is that thing that never rests... As Totò used to sing about the Giro d'Italia. Those were different times, there were different roads, but the pink jersey is here and lives on with its splendor, traversed by time and the passing of champions. It's the dream of every rider. It's the icon of Italian cycling in the world. The idea came from a Gazzetta journalist, Armando Cougnet, the first patron of the Giro d'Italia who wanted to make the race leader easily recognizable to sports fans and for this reason designed the leader's jersey in 1931. The color comes from the traditional paper used by the Milanese sports newspaper and became a famous symbol worldwide.

Over the years, many riders have succeeded: the first was Learco Guerra, the last Tadej Pogacar. Who wore it the most? Needless to say: Eddy Merckx, 78 times. Over the years, however, sponsors have also changed. The last one was Enel, the next one, most likely a Fund, a Saudi Arabian Sovereign Fund: PIF, Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the largest sovereign funds in the world, with a total estimated assets of over 925 billion dollars.

PIF's first foray into sports dates back to 2021, when it acquired a stake in Newcastle, a Premier League club, with the goal of bringing it to compete in the Champions League, where it had been absent for twenty years. PIF was also the architect of the explosion of the Saudi championship that attracted some of the most iconic faces of European football by offering pharaonic salaries. In 2023, the fund consolidated its commitment to the Middle Eastern competition by acquiring 75% of Al Hilal, Al Nassr, Al Ahli, and Al Ittihad, the major clubs in the region, which currently occupy four of the top five positions in the league.

In the fund's sports investment portfolio, LIV Golf also stands out. The competition, founded in 2022, is a professional golf circuit involving some of the most important golfers. But PIF has also set its sights on the Saudi Motorsport Company, currently the company managing the Formula 1 Grand Prix held on the Jeddah track, confirmed on the calendar until 2030 with an annual investment of 55 million dollars. Also in F1, one of PIF's ambitions is to enter the Circus through the main door. Two years ago, the fund offered 20 billion dollars to acquire the competition owned by Liberty Media, receiving a negative response from the American giant. Another recently rejected proposal was the one presented to Euroleague.

The latest target identified by the Saudi fund is Dazn. The fund is exploring entry into sports broadcasting by acquiring a 10% stake in the broadcaster owned by magnate Len Blavatnik. Recently, PIF became the official name of the men's tennis ranking, as well as a partner of the Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Beijing tournaments, the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah (which have a contract until 2027), and the ATP Finals in Turin. Now it seems ready to officially enter cycling by supporting one of the most iconic symbols in the world, the pink jersey, but they have been working for some time on a project that would involve acquiring cycling as a whole, including the Giro d'Italia.