Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has been discussing the possible resurrection of the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle United.
Last week, it was announced that the consortium which was looking to buy the Toon had ended its £300m bid after losing patience with the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test (per BBC).
However, since the collapse of the takeover, there have been some murmurings suggesting that the deal could be resurrected (via Chronicle Live).
So, in the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed his thoughts on whether the takeover could still happen.
He said: “My experience of observing business deals is that you never say never.
“I think at times, Amanda Staveley’s probably not helped herself by the very public embrace with Mike Ashley in trying to take over the company.
“If you contrast that with what happened at Manchester City, nobody had ever heard of Abu Dhabi or the Etihad Airlines until the deal was done, and it sort of went through and then a couple of hours later, they were signing Robinho.
“I think perhaps if things had taken place behind closed doors, we might have made more progress, but never say never in business, because remember Amanda Staveley was trying to buy Newcastle two years ago and it fell through and then she’s come back once again.
“So, it could be a case of third time lucky.”
TIF Thoughts…
Seemingly, Maguire still believes that there is a chance for the takeover of the Toon because you should “never say never in business”.
Do you think there's any chance of the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle being resurrected?
No, not going to happen
Yes, anything is possible
With the Reuben brothers having stated their backing for reviving the takeover deal, it certainly seems that Maguire’s comments are not without merit.
However, the St. James’ Park faithful will just have to wait and see how the saga develops.