Newcastle United: Finance expert suggests that the takeover could be off

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has suggested that the takeover of Newcastle United could be off after a report emerged.

The current takeover saga surrounding the Toon has been rolling on since interest from Amanda Staveley backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund first emerged in January (via Shields Gazette).

However, while the takeover is awaiting approval from the Premier League, it emerged on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia had barred the top-flight’s official Middle East broadcaster BeIN Sports from the country (per BBC).

So, in the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the latest development in the takeover saga and suggested it could mean something greater.

He said: “They’re either trying to put pressure on the Premier League to say ‘yes’ and then potentially they might reverse that decision in respect of BeIN.

“Or, they’ve been given a heads-up that they are going to be turned down, that they have failed the owners’ and directors’ test, of which there’s a lot of political pressure coming from people from Qatar and others, in order to make that decision much quicker.

“It has been rattling around now for months. So, given that the test itself is relatively straightforward; a) do you have any convictions which are unspent, or b) do you have the resources or not have the resources to take over the club; then that shouldn’t be taking a huge amount of time.

“So, it could be sabre-rattling from the Saudi authorities, or it could be that they’re sort of throwing their toys out of the pram with regards to this.

“So, it’s intriguing and it’s all to do with politics, this, as we’ve sadly had to say on too many occasions, and nothing to do with football.”

TIF Thoughts…

As can be seen in what Maguire had to say, he believes that the takeover is either off or Saudi Arabia are trying to force the Premier League’s hand in accepting it.

Either way, it will be interesting to see how the prospective takeover goes from here and, hopefully, it speeds up the conclusion of the whole saga.