OPINION
It’s fair to say that the latest Newcastle takeover bid has turned into a farce – but after the latest statement from the Bin Zayed Group, there’s one very good reason to say it’s telling the truth.
A quick summation to get people up to speed.
The Sun reported that the Bin Zayed Group had agreed terms on a £350m deal and that papers had gone to the Premier League.
However, it was then claimed in the Telegraph that no proof of funds had been supplied, no papers had been sent to the Premier League and that Newcastle were sceptical that a deal would come off.
This afternoon, the Bin Zayed Group made another statement to the Newcastle Chronicle, that said:
“In consideration of the numerous speculations in regards to the timelines of the acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club by Bin Zayed Group, we feel the need to issue this statement.
“Terms have been agreed between us and Mike Ashley; these terms have been reflected in a document, signed by both parties, which has been forwarded to the Premier League.
“The proof of funds statement was forwarded to Mike Ashley’s lawyers on 17 April 2019.
“The so called fit-and-proper Premier League process is a standard procedure which will take time, and we are doing all we can to assist the Premier League during this process.
“We feel the need to clarify this point in order for the fans and the general public to understand the timelines.”
So far this has been met with deafening silence from Newcastle, despite Luke Edwards from the Telegraph contacting the club to urge them to respond.
One thing comes out from all of this. If the statement from the BZG was false and just a publicity stunt, wouldn’t Newcastle simply come out and rubbish it?
That they haven’t done this suggests that the BZG is telling the truth. What could they possibly hope to gain from making such false public claims aside from terrible PR? As a business it would be a terrible move.
This story will continue to rumble on but until Mike Ashley – and let’s remember that it’s Ashley who’s selling not the club – makes a statement, we have to assume that the claims made by the BZG are true.