A lot of Newcastle United fans have reacted to a story by John Richardson, who claims that anyone interested in buying Newcastle United has to pay a £250,000 non-refundable bond to Mike Ashley before they can start due diligence.
Do you believe that Ashley wants to sell Newcastle?
Yes
No
Apparently, PIF have not yet paid this and this has not gone down well with these Toon fans who are adamant that Ashley does not want to sell because of this bond.
Ashley insists that a non returnable bond of £250,000 is paid to him before any due diligence on the club takes place from an interested party. This is yet to be paid by PIF. [@riccosrant]
— NUFC 360 (@NUFC360) February 1, 2020
The actions of a man who wants to sell definitely.
— Steve (@toontoon999) February 2, 2020
Anothe hoop to jump through, another reason why buyers disappear.
— Highland Geordie (@NUFC_Oscar86_) February 1, 2020
Makes it up as he goes along. What a joke Ashley is.
— Steve Batie (@SJBATIE) February 2, 2020
Other Newcastle supporters, though, don’t believe the story.
doubt a bloke worth over a trillion is dragging his heels over a £250k bond
— Joe #NUFC (@Joe1989NUFC) February 1, 2020
Hahahaha what a joke this bloke is again if these people are so rich what the hell is £250,000
— ToonBarmy2 (@Barmy2Toon) February 1, 2020
Give it a rest man. No takeover never was.
— Stu Renton (@lRodneyTrotterl) February 1, 2020
So they’ve been talking for about 9 months (apparently) but they’re yet to agree a returnable bond?
— Robert Brown (@rbrown172) February 1, 2020
What do we think?
The takeover rumours emerged once again last week, but by the end of the week, they had quietened down as focus shifted to transfers.
Amanda Staveley is supposed to be leading a consortium that includes the billionaire Reuben brothers and the Saudi Sovereign-Wealth Fund.
Surely if they really wanted to buy Newcastle, they would just pay that?
However, it does make you question how much does Ashley really want to sell Newcastle if he is asking for £250,000 just to look at the club’s finances. Either way, this is likely to drag on for some time.