IT’S A WHOLE NEW GLOBAL BALL GAME. NOW TOON REALLY ARE PLAYING IN...
FANS celebrated with flares, hugged Newcastle’s new owners outside their hotel – and there was one question hanging in the air amid the joy.
Can Newcastle be transformed into a global footballing superpower by their new mega-rich Saudi owners?
After all, the Public Investment Fund that now owns the club has £320bn behind it, the biggest wealth fund in the world.
Looking at the Premier League table – with Steve Bruce’s strugglers winless in seven games, lying second bottom and facing early relegation worries – it seems a far-off proposition.
But in the same way as Newcastle city centre’s historic Bigg Market is being reinvigorated with multi-million pound investment, the football club can look forward to a transformation after yesterday’s £305m takeover.
Newcastle have the richest backers in the game. Champions League qualification and “winning trophies” was immediately announced as the target by deal broker Amanda Staveley.
The Saudi rulers have been eyeing what has been achieved at Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City for years, with titles and trophies rolling in thanks to a £1bn investment.
And they’ve seen Qatar-owned Paris
St-germain dominate in France and land the best players in the world – Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
After building links with FIFA, the Saudis have landed Newcastle as their plaything.
Staveley acknowledged it will take years of rebuilding to get Newcastle to the top, like it did at City, who took three years to win a trophy and four to win the league. It will be a bumpy but exciting ride.
On the journey, despite the moral concerns over Saudis’ human rights record, there will be pride, passion and hope back at St James’ Park.
Newcastle are now beneficiaries of Gulf rivalry. Football is used as empire building by oil-rich states. War by proxy.
Ambition is back on Tyneside after 14 years – and one decent fifth-placed finish – under Mike Ashley.
Kevin Keegan, the playing and managerial legend treated so shoddily by the old regime, once suggested that the fans would have their best day when Ashley finally sold the club. So it has proved. For some time, Staveley has been keen to make Newcastle “The Club of the North”.
The one everyone watches and wants to follow outside, and ultimately instead of, the Manchester giants.
She has big plans but insisted the investors would be patient in their quest for success.
Staveley said: “Newcastle is an extraordinary football club. There is no club like it. There are no fans like Newcastle fans. We know the whole community wants a club they can be proud of. We appreciate the patience of the fans and everyone at the club. “We are long-term, patient investors. We are in this for the long haul and are here to invest. We have big ambitions but it may take time to get where we want to. “We are going to invest not just in players, but the club, the academy, and we want to see local kids making it to the first team. The talent is out there, we just need to find the kids.
“We are committed to girls’ football. The foundation supports it and we are committed to helping the women’s team develop. “The club will be welcoming and inclusive to all. “Financial success goes hand-in-hand with football success. We will run the club responsibly. We are excited to get started.”