Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently made a claim regarding the failed Saudi Arabian-backed takeover bid to purchase Newcastle United.
In late July, it was claimed that the Saudi-backed consortium looking to purchase the Toon for £300m had ended its interest in doing so (per BBC).
That was supposedly due to the fact that Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF had run out of patience with the Premier League’s owners’ and directors’ test.
However, despite a number of months having passed, reports regarding the takeover are still emerging as Mike Ashley is looking to ‘resurrect’ the deal (via Chronicle Live).
During the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the likelihood of the Saudi-backed takeover still being on the table.
He said: “Deals are never dead, they might be in hibernation. It’s a case of getting the right signals from the right people. At present, it is not the focus of the Premier League.
“Given what has happened, I think in part of Project Big Picture, which would have allowed Joel Glazer and John Henry to veto it themselves, what we have seen has been a bit of a dereliction of duty.
“Both sides have got to improve in terms of the way that they conduct themselves, both the Premier League and the potential owners.”
TIF Thoughts on what Kieran Maguire had to say regarding the Saudi-backed takeover bid…
As can be seen in what Maguire had to say, it seems to be his belief that there is still a chance for the takeover because “deals are never dead”, however, both the Premier League and the consortium have got to “improve”.
Do you think there is still a chance for the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover bid?
No, we need to move on
Yes, there's a chance
Seemingly, despite the claims that the bid had collapsed, there is still a chance for the takeover because reports continue to be shared.
So, it will be interesting to see if anything concrete does emerge regarding the Saudi Arabian-backed consortium in the future.