SAUDI THREAT
Newcastle owners warn rivals who tried to halt deal
NEWCASTLE’S new Saudi owners have promised to deliver ‘consistent, long-term success’ to the club, as they sounded a warning to Premier League rivals who tried to block the £305million deal.
Sportsmail has been told that the takeover — led by Saudi’s £700billion Public Investment Fund (PIF) — was met with fierce opposition by Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham, with the latter said to be the chief agitator in lobbying the Premier League to deny them entry to the top flight.
But the consortium were finally handed the keys to St James’ Park yesterday as work began on transforming the club, with the aim to be champions of Europe.
Amanda Staveley is fronting the operation on Tyneside and she spoke to staff inside the stadium for the first time, winning a round of applause after outlining her vision.
However, it is the financial might of the Saudi investors that will be central to any success, and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan — the club’s non-executive chairman — sent a message of intent from Riyadh.
‘Most importantly, you can expect ambition,’ he said in an open letter to supporters. ‘Like you, we want to create a consistently successful team. We are here to build long-term success for the club.
‘Owning this club is not a responsibility we have taken on lightly and we will never lose sight of what it means to be part of Newcastle United. We will make sure to focus on things that will deliver long-term success.’
One early move that is anticipated is the addition of ex-Liverpool chief scout and academy boss Frank McParland as a football advisor.
He was at Jesmond Dene House — Staveley’s base this week — in the hours after the completion of the takeover on Thursday night.
Interestingly, McParland has close links with Steven Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers, two of the names that cropped up in conversation this week concerning a replacement for Steve Bruce, who is set to be removed as head coach.
Sources say the new owners would prefer a manager with Premier League experience and there is a feeling Leicester boss Rodgers would be interested in the job.
Rangers manager Gerrard would be a popular move among fans and is said to be monitoring events at St James’ with a keen eye.
However, despite being a close ally of McParland and being the consortium’s No1 pick last summer, former Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez has been all but ruled out given his recent move to Everton.
The new owners had hoped to meet the players yesterday, but they and Bruce were on a scheduled day off.
Sources have said that, during Thursday’s training session, Bruce was more hands-on than usual, perhaps in anticipation of Staveley and fellow board member Jamie Reuben arriving, as was their original plan before the announcement was delayed.
Managing director Lee
Charnley, meanwhile, was at St James’ to greet Staveley and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi.
Charnley is expected to remain for a brief handover period before ending his near 20-year association with the club.
One face expected to return, however, is that of record goalscorer Alan Shearer. He was also at Jesmond Dene House on Thursday to meet some of the consortium and is set to accept an ambassadorial role.
Staveley has revealed she will take a ‘very hands-on’ role at Newcastle after finally steering through the longanticipated takeover.
The hard work now begins in earnest for the financier, who first tried to buy the club in 2017, and she will be front and centre working alongside nonexecutive chairman Yasir AlRumayyan and fellow director Jamie Reuben. Asked about her role, she said: ‘I’ll be very hands-on. I won’t be picking players, but I will be very hands-on on the commercial side, on running the club, on making sure that we deliver a business plan and a strategy to help drive the commercial revenues that allow us to invest in players. My team will be based at St James’ and I will be here a lot.’
Staveley refused to let her hopes of taking control die, and she and her partners — PIF and RB Sports & Media — eventually got their wish after former owner Mike Ashley had launched a two-pronged legal battle.
She said: ‘There were times when I thought we wouldn’t get there, but the fans kept writing and saying: “Don’t give up”. We had 10,000-plus letters and I just kept thinking: “I’ve got to get there”.’