The Newcastle United Takeover: What happened?

If you’ve been following football news, you might have heard about the recent takeover of Newcastle United. The rest of you might be thinking, “What’s that all about? In this article, we will be touching on everything you need to know about this takeover. 

What happened?

After an 18-month long process, the Newcastle United takeover has been completed. Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley ends his 14-year ownership of the club. The deal began in April 2020, with a bid made by a group consortium. This consortium consisted of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners. The initial deal collapsed, due to severe backlash from the league and third parties due to broadcasting rights.

Who are they?

We will look at the main funder in the group, PIF. The chairman of the Public Investment Fund is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the son of Saudi Arabia’s king. Currently, the PIF is estimated to have a net worth of £700b, making the £300m takeover seem microscopic. To put things into perspective, Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City has an estimated net worth of £16.2b.

The PIF essentially handles the investment of funds for the government of Saudi Arabia. Prior to the takeover, the PIF also had shares in Boeing, Disney and Starbucks. Out of the consortium, the PIF provided the bulk of the funds for the takeover, a whopping 80%. 

How will this affect the EPL?

Well we’ve seen how money can give a boost to a Premier League team. With the right funds and backing, a team can transform from a bottom-table team to a top performer. Just ask Manchester City!

With a rebuild in place, Newcastle United look to be surveying the market for a new manager and the personnel to create a title-challenging team. It would be interesting to see who will be a part of this legendary rebuild. If things go well, Newcastle United might just reach Manchester City and PSG levels of success, seeing as those two teams also had a similar fate. 

This would also lead to a more interesting fight at the top, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea all clawing for the Premier League trophy. This rebuild could also lead to an interesting situation if Newcastle United choose to mimic Bayern Munich’s buying patterns. Bayern have been regularly buying players from their direct Bundesliga competitors, strengthening their own team while weakening the opposition in one fell swoop. 

Rumors have already spread of Newcastle United wanting to acquire the services of Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Dean Henderson and Kylian Mbappé. With the rebuild still in its infancy, we can only speculate. Whatever happens, the future of football might just get a little more interesting.

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