Analysis: One year after their Saudi takeover, Newcastle's spending far behind Gulf-backed rivals
Alamy
Newcastle were expected to spend big to force their way into European football’s elite, and have increased the cost of their playing squad since 2021 by 86 per cent already – but will likely find it more difficult than those before them.
The takeover by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund made them the third big European club to be effectively owned by a nation-state – following in the footsteps of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.
Why it matters: Tightening financial regulation may constrain or slow Newcastle’s growth, even despite them becoming third-highest transfer spenders in England in 2022.
The perspective: City and PSG have enjoyed commercial income growth of around 800 per cent since their takeovers to help facilitate their huge spending – expect Newcastle’s new owners to employ similar focus in the coming years.
6 October 2022 - 2:35 PM
A little under a year ago, on October 7th 2021, Newcastle United were finally taken over. Thirteen years since Mike Ashley had first put the club up for sale, and a year and a half after the eventual buyers first tried to purchase the club, the Magpies were acquired for €359 million.
Those buyers comprised a consortium of three separate entities, but it was the identity of the 80 per cent majority shareholder that stole the headlines. The presen
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