Some Newcastle United fans have flocked to a tweet that was recently posted by Toon news Twitter account @NUFC360 that includes a link to an article from ChronicleLive, which states that Pat Ritchie, the chief executive of Newcastle City Council, ‘has demanded answers from the Premier League over the collapse of the Saudi-led takeover’ of Newcastle United.
Last week, a proposed Toon takeover bid that was backed by a consortium including Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers collapsed as the consortium ended its interest in the deal.
Sky Sports claimed that this takeover was ‘nearing completion’ back in April after the would-be buyers paid a deposit to current Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, however, they never received the Premier League’s approval to complete the takeover and as per ChronicleLive, ‘in the end, the buying party walked away from the negotiating table, saying they had lost faith in the process and believed the Premier League would never sanction the deal’.
However, this report claims that Ritchie ‘has offered to meet league bosses and work on a ‘compromise’ to get the deal back on track. After @NUFC360 shared this report via a tweet, plenty of Toon fans flocked to their post to react to this news.
The chief executive of Newcastle City Council, Pat Ritchie, has demanded answers from the Premier League over the collapse of the takeover.
She has offered to meet and work on a “compromise” for the “transformational” deal to be done. #nufc https://t.co/wV0HO2gw3B
— NUFC360 (@NUFC360) August 4, 2020
Many Toon fans reacted positively to this report, with some sharing excitement over the prospect of this deal getting back on track.
Result????
— Toonfan (@ataylor1892) August 4, 2020
Brilliant.
— Carol Lawson. (@carolannelawso1) August 4, 2020
Aptly name Pat Ritchie. What a woman.
— Jonathan May (@jonnyshabadoo) August 4, 2020
Do you think that the Saudi-backed takeover could still happen?
YES
NO
This is what we’ve needed, push, push and push ?? United.
— Midland Mags (@MagsMelton) August 4, 2020
Get in there!! Were moving lads
— Andrew (@Chadwick_10) August 4, 2020
@nufctrust need to get behind this too.
We can do this.
— FedUpWithBrick (@Axcrazy1) August 4, 2020
Wow..that’s big!
— Ben Carter (@CtheDoctor) August 4, 2020
Considering that the group behind this takeover bid would reportedly have been the wealthiest club owners in the Premier League if the takeover was approved, it may not come as a big surprise that these Toon fans have reacted positively to this report on the Newcastle City Council chief’s plans to try and get the deal over the line.
Furthermore, considering that ‘figures linked to the deal said there would be major investment in the city as part of the new ownership of the club’, it may be understandable why Ritchie has got involved, as this takeover could have resulted in some positive things happening for the city as well as the football club.