A section of Newcastle United fans have gone berserk on Twitter after it was confirmed that Mike Ashley has completed the purchase of House of Fraser, less than 24 hours after the transfer window slammed shut.
In a statement from Sports Direct, as quoted by the Newcastle Chronicle, Ashley has acquired the “business and assets” of the retail giants “for a cash consideration of £90m”.
Some Magpies fans are furious with controversial owner Ashley, with one calling the Sports Direct tycoon a “clown”.
Mike Ashley buying #houseoffraser for £90mil with profits made from Carrol, Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Mitrovic. We'll see every penny eh! #NUFC
— Chris Noble (@TheChrisNoble) August 10, 2018
https://twitter.com/Doddsy_86/status/1027845952764358656
https://twitter.com/MickeyAdamson/status/1027848038369439744
I'm outraged but not surprised in the slightest. That's where the money has gone. #nufc
— scotty2hotty222 (@scotty2hotty222) August 10, 2018
Now u know where the moneys gone ffs, get out of our club, u pathetic specimen ??
— geordiefella (@MarcSarg76) August 10, 2018
How can MA say he isn't really a billionaire, and he doesn't have any money to help invest in NUFC, but then spend 90million on the House of Fraser? Yet another lie… or do they accept wallpaper as payment??
— Matthew (@JB4t00n) August 10, 2018
OPINION
It will be interesting to see what the atmosphere will be like at St James’ Park for Newcastle’s Premier League opener against Tottenham on Saturday because this is a real kick in the teeth to the supporters of the club. There is no surprise that these fans are furious at Ashley. When they were promoted to the Premier League over a year ago he promised that he will give his full financial support to Rafa Benitez, but has since just backed him with cut-price deals and loans. The money from selling Aleksandar Mitrovic to Fulham has not been reinvested in the squad and from the fans’ perspective, it looks as though the businessman has used that money to buy House of Fraser. As well as the fans being furious, Benitez cannot be happy with this news either. It will probably be discussed again at length in the mainstream media, but the Spaniard’s time at St James’ Park could be coming to an end if results do not go well.