Three years on from the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, it is time for the largely silent majority owners to put their money where their mouth is not.
It will be January at the earliest before the club confirm plans for what happens next with the redevelopment of St James’ Park.
Or, as remains possible, a brand-new stadium. The Saudi preference has been to stay at St James’, where Newcastle have played for the last 132 years.
However, we can reveal that positive, informal talks with the city’s freemen over the use of Leazes Park seriously brings into play a rebuild behind their current home. It will also need Newcastle City Council on board. Sources say it would be ‘premature’ to call this outcome the favourite, but they did not deny it could emerge as so. Tellingly, one source says: ‘Everyone gets the importance of the location and maintaining that.’
Either way, the scale and ambition of the project will be the greatest indicator as to the answer to the question many are asking ahead of the third anniversary of the takeover on Monday – how interested is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in Newcastle? PIF are not open to independent questioning and only rarely do they communicate through club channels. So, in recent weeks, we have set about discovering more.
Newcastle have had talks about a stadium rebuild in Leazes Park near their current site
The £1billion redevelopment would need the Newcastle City Council on board to go ahead
With the third anniversary of their takeover approaching, it is worth asking: how interested is Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund in Newcastle?
We can reveal that last Friday at the grandiose Matfen Hall – a former stately home 15 miles west of Newcastle – a PIF delegation was present for what has been described as a ‘partners summit’. Given the necessity for an increase in commercial revenue to push back on Profit and Sustainability Rules, this conference was of huge strategic importance.
On the same day that it was confirmed Darren Eales would be standing down as chief executive after the diagnosis of chronic blood cancer – thankfully, his long-term prognosis is said to be positive – he and chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone met with Newcastle’s commercial partners. The club made a presentation and there was feedback in both directions, followed by an evening dinner.
Those present were suitably impressed and the networking continued during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City. There were also several internal meetings concerning finance and planning.
PIF were in attendance throughout – LIV Golf chief Greg Norman wore a black and white scarf for the game – but we understand Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the fund’s governor and club chairman, pulled out overnight on Thursday. That can happen given his level of seniority within the Saudi government, but his intention to be on Tyneside for the second time in less than a month is significant.
Multiple sources have said that PIF were ‘not happy’ with some of the mechanics and optics of a turbulent summer inside the club. There was the boardroom unrest that led to the departure of co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi. Before that, there were the panicked attempts to plug a £70million hole in the accounts and avoid a points deduction for financial breaches, as was achieved at the 11th hour. The owners had let it be known such embarrassment was not an option.
Then there was the arrival of sporting director Paul Mitchell and tension with head coach Eddie Howe, which led to a stand-off in which the pair only traded words through the media. To the backdrop of that was the failure to strengthen the team in the transfer market. When we asked sources what had caused most concern among the Saudi ownership, the reply came back: ‘All of the above. This summer felt like the first big bump in the road.’
Eddie Howe will be hoping the owners’ ambitions for the club match his own moving forward
Mail Sport can reveal that a PIF delegation was present for a meeting at Matfen Hall
PIF were in attendance for Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Premier League champions Man City
LIV Golf chief Greg Norman and former world No 1 golfer wore a black and white scarf
But why is there concern among some supporters, too? Concern that the Newcastle project no longer ranks as highly in Saudi priorities as it did on day one, when Staveley declared their ambition to win the Premier League within five years. Al-Rumayyan has since said they want to be ‘No 1 in the world’.
Many have wondered why, when Newcastle desperately needed to sell players this summer and in previous windows, a PIF-owned Saudi club only once helped solve the issue. Even then, negotiations with Al-Ahli over a £20m deal for Allan Saint-Maximin were difficult and Newcastle were left feeling short-changed. Premier League rivals have profited far more from trading with Saudi teams.
Meanwhile, the front-of-shirt sponsorship with PIF-owned events company Sela was valued at £25m per season. Sources say Champions League qualification could easily have pushed that figure beyond £30m, without Premier League checks flagging it as unfair under their Associated Party Transaction guidelines. Even within the rules, it seems, PIF and Newcastle have preferred not to bend them.
But the overriding reason that doubt has surfaced is the delayed confirmation of plans to increase the capacity of St James’, or build a new ground. There was a timely reminder as to that need this week when 52,000 showed up for a Carabao Cup tie against League Two side AFC Wimbledon. More seats are needed to satisfy demand, and a stadium that increases revenue and the team’s competitiveness is needed to maintain it.
You can add a new training complex to the list of investments required for Newcastle to challenge at the level the Saudis so desire. There was a modest £10m spent on upgrading facilities two years ago, but as one insider said: ‘It’s a big improvement, but it’s also like putting lipstick on a pig.’
Here is a story that captures how cramped the current space remains – when plans were discussed to include cryotherapy and hyperbaric chambers and the like, the proximity of some to each other was flagged as extremely dangerous. ‘We could have blown up half of North Tyneside!’ said one observer.
We can reveal that three sites including land near Newcastle Racecourse owned by the Reubens, the club’s co-owners, have been identified from a longer list for a state-of-the-art training ground. New chief operating officer Brad Miller is taking charge of this project, as he is the stadium. Progress, though, has been slow.
There is also irritation at the supporter experience when it comes to ticketing, and more general concern about the current state of St James’. ‘They’ve painted and decorated, cleaned the windows and put some new TVs in,’ says one fan, ‘but it’s not what we expected. At least not yet.’
Fans are concerned Newcastle are no longer the PIF’s priority – despite Amanda Staveley, now gone, declaring their ambition to win the league in five years
Were they short changed by the Saudis for Allan Saint-Maximin, who is now on loan in Turkiye?
As reported in Mail Sport’s Newcastle Confidential column last week, the cost of redevelopment could be up to £1billion. Are the Saudis willing to pick up the entire tab?
‘The years of the open chequebook in Saudi Arabia are over,’ says one source. ‘Everyone has to justify their existence and there is more budgetary disciple on how they deploy their resources, especially overseas.
‘The feasibility study (on expanding St James’) says that engineering challenges can be overcome. But the payback time of adding a tier, in terms of a return on the investment, will likely be upwards of 50 years and as much as 100. That is a long time to justify such a vast financial outlay. Do PIF say, “We don’t care, let’s do it”? Or, do they take the view that it makes more economic sense to build a new stadium? Or, a smaller scale solution at St James’?
‘Whatever they do, they need to make a decision. They’ve had long enough now. What they do will be the biggest sign of how committed they are.’
Sources close to the club insist that PIF will write ‘whatever cheque is necessary, as long as it solves the problem they’re trying to fix – more seats but also maximising revenue’. That should reassure supporters on the ground.
But it was also fascinating to speak to those in Riyadh this week, to gauge interest in Newcastle among the Saudi public. When I visited two years ago, there were billboards decorated with Newcastle players and what felt like an increasing presence and enthusiasm for the club. That is no longer the case, it seems.
‘In the beginning, we had only Newcastle to talk about,’ says one native. ‘Now, Cristiano Ronaldo and many other top stars play here. We have the World Cup to come, there is LIV Golf, boxing, e-gaming, MMA. PIF has also bought the four biggest clubs in the Saudi league, but that has given them a big headache. Fans are arguing every day about who gets which player.
‘PIF is getting bigger and bigger – technology, real estate. The feeling is they are still committed to Newcastle, but it is a long-term project. The excitement here is not the same. There are no Saudis working or playing at the club and there have been no trophies. You don’t hear much talk of Newcastle in the community.’
The stadium redevelopment could cost up to £1billion. Would the Saudis fully fund that?
‘The years of the open chequebook in Saudi Arabia are over,’ according to one source
Since acquiring the club in a £305m deal from Mike Ashley, the majority owners have been ‘absent landlords’, as one source put it. There is no Saudi presence within St James’. This, for some, has been a mistake.
Staveley and Ghodoussi reported back to Riyadh on an almost daily basis and others continue to do so – there is no lack of interest – but it would benefit the club, say well-placed sources, if PIF were to have their own eyes, ears and intelligence inside the building. Again, though, it has been stressed, we should not misinterpret remote management as not caring. On the contrary, sources independent of PIF are extremely strong in rebutting any suggestion of waning interest.
‘There is no sense of a retreat,’ says one source with good knowledge of the owners. ‘They are 100 per cent committed. They would like to be further ahead and there has been frustration around that, but they also knew that PSR was there when they arrived.
‘Yes, it’s been harder than imagined and what they want to achieve will take longer than anticipated. But losing interest? No. This is their Premier League asset. They are not about to abandon ship (whispers of interest in Liverpool circled last month). It took a lot of work and patience to buy Newcastle, and it will take the same to achieve their ambitions. It is an investment, not a play-thing.’
Al-Rumayyan, one of the most prominent figures in Saudi society, is absolutely central to the investment. One vignette. When Newcastle beat Crystal Palace 1-0 towards the end of the Saudis’ first season, and so moved onto 40 points, he walked into the neon-lighted chairman’s suite and ‘punched the air repeatedly and did not care who saw him’.
But with his enthusiasm, it is said, comes an intolerance for underperformance, especially when the margins are so tight in a PSR world. It is not all punching the air and kicking a ball on the pitch, as he also did after that Palace game.
‘He has limited patience for people who don’t perform,’ says another source. ‘These guys don’t waste their time. He spends his life on a jet and his itinerary is to the minute – next, next, next. He is intelligent and very to the point.’
PIF director Jacobo Solis and head of corporate affairs Kevin Foster were among those on Tyneside last week. Spaniard Solis is said to bring an understanding of football and business. It was a very senior contingent – their private Learjets landed on Thursday – and Al-Rumayyan was due to lead their presence. ‘Newcastle is clearly still a very big priority,’ said one observer.
One source insists that the PIF are ‘fully committed’ to Newcastle despite a ‘sense of retreat’
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was well-received at a pro-am tournament in Scotland
Al-Rumayyan wore a Newcastle pullover when he played golf at a pro-am tournament at Carnoustie this week, and that was well received by supporters who were perhaps nervous that his engagement has swung towards other sports.
He and PIF have seen the results of the St James’ feasibility study, but it was left to Miller to communicate on Thursday that the ‘risks’ associated with expansion meant a new home was still an option. To that end, we can reveal that Staveley began a charm offensive with the freemen a long time ago, and they have been wined and dined at St James’. Both they and the city council will have to be on side if Leazes Park is deemed central to the club’s plans.
So, to revisit the question – are the Saudis still interested in Newcastle? The anecdotal evidence has returned a resounding ‘yes’. But for silent owners especially, actions will speak louder than words.
