Mike Ashley’s dreaded takeover comments confirm Newcastle fans’ worst nightmare

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Mike Ashley has broken his silence.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, the Newcastle owner has hailed Steve Bruce, criticised Rafa Benitez and claimed he wanted to give him an eight-year deal, rued the sale of Ayoze Perez, and ended talk of a takeover.

Oh, and he turned into David Brent when talking about drink and drugs.

The criticism of Rafa won’t go down well with fans, but it’s his word against the Spaniard’s. Let’s be honest, who are we really going to trust?

But away from Benitez, Ashley also talked about the future of Newcastle United and its ownership. It’s not good news.

“So I have to assume I will stay running this football club. There are no offers,” Ashley told the Daily Mail.

“Define an offer. I’m not a believer any more. Peter Kenyon convinced me last Christmas that it was going to get done. I’m never doing that again. I think I could own this football club for ever. That is my new mental state.”

Those final two sentences are chilling. Mike Ashley in charge forever? Surely not. While these words are exactly what we didn’t want to hear, he hits the nail on the head with his next point.

“The reality is with these deals that once it gets out, if it’s not done, it’s probably not going to get done.

“The day someone buys Newcastle, they’ll do their due diligence – and finished. It will happen like Manchester City. By the time the media find out, it’s already complete.”

Every time there’s been talk of a Newcastle takeover, it’s been dragged out through the press. That’s not how a takeover happens.

The latest attempt came from the Bin Zayed Group.

“The last bid, the one from UAE, he’s a prince and he’s got £38bn or £100bn, all these numbers — well, why would you even care what you’re paying then?

“What difference would £10m either way make? You would want speed, you would want certainty, you would want the keys and to get on with it.”

While that might be true, surely the same can be said for Ashley. He’s a billionaire. What difference does £10 million make either way? Although, I suppose Sports Direct do have a big tax bill to pay…

Until we see action, this will just go down as a pointless PR exercise.

Ashley, if you’re really going to stay forever and are so enthusiastic now that Bruce is in charge, put your money where your mouth is and back your manager. You’ve got less than two weeks.