JJ Devaney and Andrew Gundling have been on the latest ESPN Caught Offside podcast and have discussed FFP and Manchester City.
While discussing the recent CAS ruling that went in City’s favour, Devaney brought up Newcastle United and their proposed Saudi-backed takeover.
Devaney suggested that because of this ruling, Newcastle under new ownership could exploit the rules, citing that the precedent that the ruling has set could essentially provide a blueprint for the Toon’s would-be wealthy owners to take advantage of what will be seen as a giant loophole in the way football clubs are funded.
Here is what he had to say about the situation while speaking with Andy May:
“Say the Newcastle deal goes through, I mean, what has this ruling taught the potential Saudi ownership?
“Only, have a really, really good, strong internet firewall, make sure your emails don’t get hacked, keep everything under wraps for five years, and then they [UEFA] can’t touch you.
“Not really, you’ll go through a small process where your name might be slightly impugned, but at the end of it, life goes on.”
It seems then that Devaney feels that Newcastle could get away with FFP violations if they are careful.
Do you think it is too early to be talking about this?
Yes, the PL haven't decided anything yet
No, it is going to happen so we should discuss FFP
TIF Thoughts…
The takeover for Newcastle United is still with the Premier League and has been for 16 weeks, so it seems a bit daft to be discussing what might happen to the Toon under FFP when Mike Ashley is still the owner.
It is clear that Devaney believes that the Toon could break FFP and get away with it, but Staveley has spoken about FFP before, and it seems that she does not intend to follow City’s lead.
However, that decision might not be down to her considering PIF will be the majority owners and they have some serious wealth backing them.
However, all of this is pointless until the Premier League make a decision on the takeover and if it goes badly, Newcastle could be stuck with Ashley.