Will Newcastle be the next Man City or PSG?

Martin Macdonald

• 7 Oct 2021 16:08 BST
• 4 min read

Newcastle United are set to become one of the richest clubs in the world should a controversial takeover take place led by a Saudi Arabian-led consortium.

The Premier League side will be owned 80% by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund in a consortium led by businesswoman Amanda Stavely.

There has naturally been concern raised over the potential takeover for a variety of reasons, mainly in the media due to Saudia Arabia's human rights record.

The major breakthrough in talks came after a previous disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Qatar was settled over the Premier League.

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Qatar spends hundreds of millions on television rights for the English top-flight, while Saudi Arabia has recently been one of the main offending countries in the world for distributing illegal streams of matches.

When Qatar gave their blessing for the takeover, that led to the breakthrough.

There are definite parallels with the ownership of the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Who owns Man City and PSG??

The spending power that Man City and PSG's ownership from the UAE and Qatar has provided them has transformed them into two of Europe’s leading clubs over the course of a decade.

While no club has spent more in recent times than Man City, PSG have made the two biggest signings in football history, having captured Neymar from Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe from Monaco in the summer of 2017. The Brazilian’s €222 million transfer fee is a world record and one that looks likely to stand for quite some time. Mbappe, meanwhile, was signed for €160m, potentially rising to €180m.

While Qatar’s ownership of PSG is relatively straightforward, Man City are simply the figurehead club of the City Football Group.

Will Newcastle be like Man City and PSG?

Though Newcastle may eventually become a spending juggernaut, the new Saudi owners will not spent hundreds of millions on transfers in the short-term, as the takeover is seen as a long-term project.

As outlined by Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie, the immediate target will be to stay in the Premier League, which will mean some spending in January, and then to focus on youth development and training ground improvements as well as other infrastructure.

"They are very wealthy - it is the Sovereign Wealth Fund of Saudi Arabia having an 80 per cent stake in Newcastle. It is big money and they have got a lot of money to spend," Downie writes.

"They are obviously going to be guided by Financial Fair Play. The information we have been told all along since they came to the table two or three years ago was that they were going to do this gradually.

"They are not going to throw money at it straight away. They want to invest gradually in the months and years ahead. There is a lot that needs improving at this football club - the infrastructure, the stadium, the academy - all of these need investment and I think that will be one of their priorities.

"One of their other priorities will be to keep Newcastle in the Premier League this season. Without that the takeover would've been off. They need Newcastle in the Premier League.

"I do expect them to spend money in the January transfer window, this will give them enough time to assess the squad and see what they want to do. They need to make a decision on the manager as well.

"They are not going to throw hundreds of millions of pounds at it straight away, it is going to be gradual, they want to do it properly, that has been the plan all along.