A lot of Newcastle United fans have been reacting to a tweet that was recently posted by Toon news Twitter account @ChronicleNUFC which shares a reporter’s claim that Newcastle United has “been purchased” by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
This post included a link to ChronicleLive’s live blog from 26th July which included an update from sports journalist Ben Jacobs at 12:58, who claimed that the sale of the Toon has been completed.
Jacobs took to Twitter to reveal that he ‘interviewed a senior source at Saudi Media City,’ who shared that they believe the Toon ‘has now “been purchased”’ by PIF. While Jacobs went on to state that his ‘understanding remains nothing has been finalised,’ he also quoted this source as saying that “the best La Liga players will be bought” following the completion of this takeover, “led by [Lionel] Messi.”
After @ChronicleNUFC posted their tweet sharing that this reporter has claimed that the Toon has “been purchased,” plenty of Newcastle United supporters replied to this post to react to this alleged news.
Report claims #NUFC has now "been purchased" by Saudi PIFhttps://t.co/GzKFPyjv6p
— The Chronicle (@ChronicleNUFC) July 26, 2020
Plenty of the Newcastle United fans who responded to @ChronicleNUFC’s tweet were sceptical about Jacobs’ claim. One particular Toon fan questioned Jacobs’ credibility while another Newcastle supporter shared that they believe this latest update is “embarrassing.”
Ben Jacobs is a proven liar. He was the one who said the BZG fake lawyer was legitimate or do the chronicle forget having to delete a whole podcast he appeared on?
— Damien Coughlan (@dynamodamo) July 26, 2020
Embarrassing now!! Just say nowt #NUFC https://t.co/r7O1X42VGG
— Marc Morgan (@Marcusmorganus) July 26, 2020
I’ll only believe it when it’s on the bbc/ sky sports website and the new owners are standing in the centre circle of the pitch looking all smug.
— Kenneth Murphy (@KennethMurphy2) July 26, 2020
Do you believe that there is truth in this update?
YES
NO
Give over!
— thereal andrew young (@temperamentalan) July 26, 2020
Wow
— Striker Asmita (@StrikerAsmita) July 26, 2020
However, some Newcastle fans seemed to believe that there may be some truth to the journalist’s update.
I believe this could be true looking into the eyes of Bruce when he was interviewed after the game he looked like he’d been told his future is not here.Might be wrong like?
— Jon (@JonMuzza1) July 26, 2020
Interesting timing, is this the start of the leaks? Announcement next week? https://t.co/FghIikYdEw
— Toon_TexCan ?? (@toon_tx) July 26, 2020
While Jacobs did claim that a ‘senior source at Saudi Media City’ told him that PIF has completed the purchase of Newcastle United, it appears as though Jacobs was only relaying the words of this senior source, as he did follow up on this quote by saying that his ‘understanding remains nothing has been finalised.’
With that in mind, it may be fair to say that the journalist was not confirming anything with regard to the Saudi-backed Toon takeover bid being completed and it may be wise to take this latest update with a pinch of salt until more news outlets back up this claim.