The Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had envisaged the year 2020 in line with his modernization plans, where a record number of Muslims were to visit the Mecca and Medina, new industries were to set up, entertainment sector was meant to flourish, while the crown prince was to host the G20 summit. However, the unexpected impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, along with Saudi Arabia's poor human rights records, laid unforeseen challenges before the development plans of the Kingdom, where some of the programs under ‘Vision 2030’ were also expected to be affected. On 2 May, the Finance Minister of Saudi Arabia admitted that the country's economy was facing a severe economical crisis for the first time in decades, due to the pandemic as well as declining global oil markets. Mohammed Al-Jadaan said that the country will take “painful” measures and keep all options open to deal with the impact. However, despite the gloomy economy and the need to “cut deeply” the government spending, the country had laid plans to acquire Newcastle United worth £300 million.