Saudi Arabia given greenlight for Newcastle F.C. takeover

Amanda Staveley is at the head of the proposed £300million takeover, with backing from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) which is fronted by crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The proposed takeover has been greeted by Newcastle fans, as not only do they want to see the back of incumbent owner Mike Ashley, but they are also aware the Magpies could soon have the richest owners in the entire Premier League.

The PIF are understood to have assets totalling more than £260bn, and to put that wealth into perspective, Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour currently tops the Premier League rich list with a net worth of £23.3bn – a staggering £236.7bn LESS than the PIF.

Nonetheless, there has been strong opposition to the proposed takeover and doubts have been raised over the Premier League approving the deal.Questions of ‘sportswashing’ and human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia have led to criticism of the Saudi regime, while the fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Hatice Cengiz, has written to the Premier League saying the crown prince should not be able to buy Newcastle.

But it appears this final hurdle has been successfully crossed, with Saudi state news channel Al Ekhbariya claiming the Premier League has approved the takeover.

A Twitter post from the news channel, which is owned by the government and run by the Ministry of Media, read: “The English Premier League gives the green light to complete the Saudi acquisition.”

The Daily Express also say the £300m takeover has been green-lit by the Premier League.