Newcastle owner Mike Ashley wants a ‘clean break’ from the club and will not look to retain advertising rights after a takeover is completed, according to the Daily Star.
In 2011, Ashley made the deeply unpopular move of renaming St. James’ Park the Sports Direct Arena, a move that was reversed less than a year later after huge fan backlash.
In fact, it was new shirt sponsors Wonga who paid Ashley to revert the name back, but more than 150 advertisements for Sports Direct remained stationed around the ground.
The Star now report that Ashley will not look to leave those advertisements in place, and that he wants to completely end his association with the club.
Ashley is currently waiting on a second offer from Amanda Staveley and PCP Partners, a Middle East consortium who are the only serious bidders for the Magpies at the current moment.
A first bid of £300million, including several performance-based incentives, was rejected by Ashley, and he reportedly values the club at a minimum of £350million.
OPINION
This will be music to the Toon Army’s ears. Ashley’s unapologetic mass branding of the stadium has never sat well with supporters, and a clean break will truly herald a new dawn for the club and the famous ground. Ashley has never been a popular owner, overseeing two relegations and some worrying times for the club, and fans will surely be happy to see him go. Supporters will now be waiting on Staveley and PCP to come back with a serious offer, after their first was rejected by Ashley, and quite frankly never stood a chance.