Premier League club Newcastle United now has the wealthiest owners in world football when their reported £300 million takeover went  through. Saudi Arabia‘s Public Investment Fund (PIF), headed up by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, purchased Newcastle United from retail magnate Mike Ashley.

The takeover involved the PIF taking a controlling 100% in club. The deal, around for approximately 18 months, couldn’t fall through after Premier League authorities faced pressure to block the transaction over human rights abuses and alleged broadcast piracy in Saudi Arabia.

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To get around that problem, the league could consider the PIF as separate to the Saudi state, the BBC reported. 

The PIF, as per Goal.com, has a net worth of  £330 bn, which is much more than the owners of Manchester City (£23.2 bn), RB Salzburg (£15.7 bn), Juventus (£11 bn) or Chelsea (£9.6 bn). 

The Saudi state removed a significant barrier to the takeover when it resolved its issues with beIN Sports over the illegal streaming of Premier League football.

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The Qatari network has been unable to broadcast in Saudi Arabia for the last four-and-a-half years as part of a dispute. But the ban is now set to come to an end.

In July 2020 the PIF withdrew their bid, saying that it was “no longer commercially viable” for them to proceed.

A statement said: “With a deep appreciation for the Newcastle community and the significance of its football club, we have come to the decision to withdraw our interest in acquiring Newcastle United Football Club.

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“Unfortunately, the prolonged process under the current circumstances coupled with global uncertainty has rendered the potential investment no longer commercially viable.”

As per Sky Sports, the deal will likely fall through on Thursday. 

There is growing confidence on Tyneside tonight that the £300m takeover, led by Amanda Staveley and backed by the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia, the report said.