Newcastle United could soon be able to show the true potential of the Saudi-backed ownership.
The Magpies were released from Mike Ashley’s clutches in October 2021 when a consortium backed by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) became the majority stakeholder alongside the Reuben Brothers and PCP Capital Partners, fronted by Amanda Staveley.
Progress has been made both on and off the pitch. Newcastle United’s owners sacked Steve Bruce in the early days of their reign and appointed Eddie Howe who has taken them to the Champions League and two cup finals in his three years at the helm.
In 2025, Howe is looking to take Newcastle back to European competition and aims to win the club’s first trophy since 1969 when they play in the Carabao Cup final in March.
While the PIF have a huge fortune at their disposal, they have been prevented from spending when the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules were deemed unlawful by a tribunal.
The APT ruling should benefit Newcastle who could soon sign more cost-effective deals with the PIF. With the PIF in their fourth year of ownership, Yasir Al-Rumayyan has said exactly how he feels about their progress in that time.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Newcastle ownership
Newcastle chairman Al-Rumayyan has his fingers in many different pies. He is also chairman of companies like LIV Golf and Riyadh Air.
Newcastle play Nottingham Forest on Sunday in what is a huge clash in regards to the top four race – the PIF will have their attention elsewhere.
Al-Rumayyan is flying to Newcastle to attend the game and scrutinise plans for a new stadium before making a final decision. Plans for Newcastle’s new 70,000-seater stadium were unveiled to be just a stone’s throw away from St James’ Park which may help them into an easy decision.
The Newcastle chair has attended games in the past. He was present for the game that saw Howe’s side return to the Champions League and the 2023 Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester United.
Al-Rumayyan attended a talk with FII Institute about business strategies and the PIF’s plans for the future. During the talk, he gave a four-word response to how he feels about buying Newcastle.
“(The) sports sector is one of the 13 sectors that we are really focusing on as part of our strategy,” Al-Rumayyan said.
“The first thing that we’ve done was in football. We bought Newcastle Football Club, and we did extremely well.”
The PIF bought Newcastle for £300m from Ashley, a deal that now looks to be a bargain in comparison to how much other clubs in the Premier League have been sold for. For example, Jim Ratcliffe invested over £1bn into Manchester United for just 25% of the club.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan’s future Newcastle plans
The big topic of discussion within the fanbase is undoubtedly the talk over a new stadium. However, other plans in the pipeline will take Newcastle to the next level and allow them to be more competitive on the pitch and become a powerhouse off it.
In addition to a new ground, Newcastle will build a new training complex after years at the inadequate Darsley Park. A new training ground is still several years away but will be a huge upgrade to what is currently in place.
From a sponsorship perspective, PIF could purchase naming rights for St James’ Park or the new stadium which gives the Magpies another massive revenue stream. After the APT ruling, Newcastle could sue the Premier League for compensation if they can prove that they lost out on any sponsorship deals or extra revenue because of the rules.
Former Newcastle owner Staveley blasted Premier League clubs for voting in favour of the APT rules in 2021 – she knew they would be held back because of them.
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