Newcastle United will meet with other Premier League clubs later this month to vote on an important rule change.
Newcastle fans will likely be sick of the financial regulations after the Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules singlehandedly ruined the summer transfer window.
Regulations have shackled Newcastle’s spending ever since the PIF takeover was completed in 2021, stopping the club from using the immense wealth of their new owners to challenge the Premier League’s elite.
However, Manchester City challenged the Premier League over what they deemed to be “unlawful” associated party transaction rules and landed a legal victory over them.
The Premier League have now been forced to change the rules in question, and those changes bring good news for Newcastle fans.
New rules open door for ‘huge’ PIF deals
GRV’s football finance expert Adam Williams told Geordie Boot Boys in October that Newcastle will benefit from City’s legal battle as the rules were brought in after the PIF takeover to stamp out inflated commercial deals.
The Premier League are now set to put their proposed rule changes to a vote on November 22nd.
According to The Times, who have seen the 14-page document, all teams in the top flight stand to benefit from the rule change. They claim it will open the door for “huge deals” to take place.
The regulations state that Premier League clubs had to ensure all commercial or sponsorship deals with parties related to their ownership were of ‘fair market value’.
Finance expert explains how Newcastle will benefit from new rules
Adam Williams spoke exclusively to Geordie Boot Boys about the impact that the changed APT rules will have on Newcastle, PIF and future sponsorship deals.
Williams said: “On the whole, I think it’s hard to see this as anything other than a move in the right direction for Newcastle.
“They are at the very heart of this issue. After all, the APT rules were introduced in the immediate aftermath of the takeover in 2021. And for all those that supported the new restrictions insist that the timing was coincidental, everyone knows that wasn’t the case.”
“I think the move from ‘would’ to ‘could’ in the fair market value assessment basically acknowledges that Gulf states can pay a premium and that should be acknowledged when the Premier League is deciding whether a commercial deal represents market value.
“It’s a bit of a paradox here. PIF ‘could’ pay more via sponsorship so therefore they might be allowed to. It’s all about semantics, really.
“The shareholder loans issue doesn’t affect them directly, but I do think the fact that the Premier League are likely to change them so that they are considered a subsidy is something of a moral victory for Newcastle. It acknowledges that the rules have been poorly written.
“The third and final significant change looks like it will give clubs access to the databank of commercial deals across the Premier League.
“This will give them more insight into how their competitors are operating commercially, and it might give them more leverage to strike bigger deals, using other clubs’ arrangements as justification.
“That said, I don’t think this represents a huge step forward for Newcastle. I can’t remember who said it, so apologies if they are reading, but I saw someone say that the changes to the APT system can probably be read as ‘do what you like but don’t take the mick’. Honestly, I think that sounds about right.”
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