A Saudi-led consortium on Thursday officially completed their takeover of Newcastle United, bringing an end to the 18-month saga surrounding the club’s ownership as well as the controversial 14-year era of former owner Mike Ashley.
The reported £300 million takeover was officially completed on Thursday after the parties – Premier League, Newcastle and the consortium – tied up the final details of the deal, which was initially rejected last summer.
The takeover sees Saudi’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) taking a controlling 100% stake in the club, making them the richest owners in the footballing world, dwarfing even the wealth of the fellow oil-rich sheikhs who own Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
“We are extremely proud to become the new owners of Newcastle United, one of the most famous clubs in English football. We thank the Newcastle fans for their tremendously loyal support over the years and we are excited to work together with them,” the PIF Governor said.
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One of the reported priorities of the new owners in Tyneside is to make a change in management, with manager Steve Bruce’s replacement reportedly just a matter of time. The group, led by British businesswoman Amanda Staveley, is yet to make a decision on when the former Sunderland manager will be replaced, or who the replacement will be.
Last week, Bruce said he hoped the takeover could be completed for the good of the club and its fans.
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One of the major hurdles to the takeover, which led to the Saudi group withdrawing from the deal last year, was an issue with Qatar-based broadcasters beIN Sports which was resolved on Wednesday. The network was banned from broadcasting in Saudi Arabia for the last four-and-a-half-years over a diplomatic issue between the two nations.
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Newcastle supporters have been desperate for news of a change in ownership as there has been a lot of bad blood between fans and former owner Ashley over his 14-year reign. Lack of investment, vision and strategy to advance the celebrated club’s legacy, in addition to overseeing two out of six relegations in the club’s 129-year history, have made fans turn on the Sports Direct billionaire publicly and repeatedly since 2007.
The new owners are reportedly keen on investing in new signing starting from the January window itself, with other infrastructure-related investment like upgrading the academy, training facilities and the stadium St James’ Park, also on the cards.
