According to Sunday Mirror’s John Richardson, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s £300 million takeover of Newcastle United has been given the greenlight by the Premier League, with an official announcement imminent.
At last!! Reliable Middle East sources saying the Toon takeover has been given the go ahead. An official announcement is imminent. 🙏🙏
— John Richardson (@riccosrant) May 20, 2020
Former Magpies star Olivier Bernard had claimed that the takeover was due to be made official yesterday, and while it didn’t happen, it appears something official is edging closer.
Olivier Bernard had this to say on last night’s programme and it’s some potentially exciting news on the #NUFCTakeover and lovers of #cans: “Hopefully tomorrow [today] it is official…”
You can hear Olly’s comments at 36:45 and 51:50 here: https://t.co/hXKeWi1crh pic.twitter.com/Eh58aMPABX
— Football Matters (@footymatterstv) May 19, 2020
The Premier League have taken forever in conducting their Directors and Owners test on the Newcastle prospective new owners, with concerns over piracy issues related to Saudi’s BeOutQ threatening to derail the process.
The Kingdom’s human rights record were also cited by Amnesty International as a reason why PIF shouldn’t be allowed to buy Newcastle, but the would-be owners have remained confident that the takeover will go through.
They are already sounding out appointments for key football roles, with the likes of Luis Campos, Domenico Teti and Owen Brown on their radar for the Director of Football position.
It remains to be seen if an announcement will be made this week, but it seems one should be expected before the end of the month, and Newcastle fans will definitely be eagerly looking forward to it like they have done for the past six weeks.
