RIVAL CLUBS SNUB TOON AND SLAM £305M SAUDI TAKEOVER

MANCHESTER UNITED, Tottenham and Everton were among the clubs who objected to the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United at a meeting yesterday of the other 19 Premier League clubs to explain why the £305million sale was approved. The acquisition has long drawn fierce opposition from the top flight’s bigger clubs — though many others believe this is due to concerns over Newcastle gatecrashing the European places. One top-flight executive told Sportsmail the response was down to the ‘green-eyed monster’ and ‘self-interest’, with Newcastle’s owners promising significant investment. However, Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and chairman Gary Hoffman have now addressed their member clubs on the matter. Not everyone vented fury — there was even humour among some of the smaller clubs, with the Big Six’s aborted Super League breakaway fresh in their memories. There were raised eyebrows that Newcastle had not been invited on to the call, although the point was made that an open conversation would have been difficult had they been present. ‘This is mainly an issue for the bigger clubs, though there are concerns over the immediate impact on the relegation battle,’ an executive from one side explained. ‘They are nervous that precious Champions League places have suddenly got harder to come by. A lot of the smaller clubs are pretty relaxed about it.’ The Premier League said they had no option but to approve the deal once they had legal assurances of separation between the Saudi state and the Public Investment Fund.