In recent weeks, Manchester United has been linked to a lucrative Saudi-led takeover.
Newcastle United’s owners, the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, are not looking to ditch their involvement with the Magpies in spite of their reported interest in buying Manchester United, according to reports. The group is thought to be weighing up a multi-billion pound takeover of the club after the Glazer family announced they would be exploring ‘strategic alternatives’ at Old Trafford over the coming months, which could ultimately result in an outright sale.
The desire from PIF to purchase United has raised questions over whether they could decide to drop Newcastle if they end up acting on their interest in the near future, with the Red Devils having been tentatively linked with a Saudi-led takeover for a number of years.
However, there is no danger of that happening because they see huge potential in Newcastle and would like to continue building their project on Tyneside as things stand, according to CBS Sports.
It is said that Newcastle chair Yasir Al-Rumayyan sees huge earning potential for the club, which their Saudi owners purchased for around £ 305 million in October of last year.
They are said to view the fee they paid as a bargain, especially given the progress made by the club both on and off the pitch over the last 13 months.
Newcastle’s commercial value will have doubled in less than two years if they manage to qualify for next season’s Champions League, which could be a real possibility after their flying start to the current Premier League campaign.
A handful of lucrative partnerships have also been lined up for the future, which suggests that the Magpies will remain a priority for PIF for the next few years at least.
Any Saudi-backed takeover at Old Trafford, meanwhile, is also likely to come from the private sector as opposed to PIF, although Saudi sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal has said that investors would be supported by government entities if the possibility of buying United materializes over the coming months.
“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and there’s a lot of passion about football,” he told The Times last month.
“It’s the most-watched league in Saudi and the region and you have a lot of fans of the Premier League.
“We will definitely support it if any [Saudi] private sector comes in because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom. But if there’s an investor willing to do so and the numbers add up, why not?”
Any deal to see the Glazers sell United would likely go down well with the vast majority of United supporters, who have voiced their collective opposition to their American ownership on a consistent basis over the last few years.
The family has struggled to win over the Red Devils faithful since their connection with the club began in 2003, with United’s general decline over the last decade and a perceived lack of investment from the powers that be have contributed to a growing anti-Glazer sentiment within certain sections of their fanbase.
Leave a Reply