Hypocrisy. And fear. Those are the two main words connected with the recent Newcastle takeover. A 51 billion Ksh price paid for one of the most popular clubs in England was a drop in the sea for the rich Saudi Arabia owners and their ‘Public Investment Fund’ (PIF), which is worth 48 trillion Ksh, more than other 19 Premier League clubs combined. And when the actual deal was struck, all the big clubs were frightened and surprised. Then their feelings soon turn into anger, so they organized a meeting with the Premier League executives, and the only club which hasn’t been invited were – Newcastle United.Newcastle can invest 30 billion Ksh without breaking financial rules; Staveley: “We can be as big as PSG”Manchester United and Spurs, along with Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton were among the loudest ones opposing the takeover, and demanding answers from the Premier League brass. They wanted to know what changed so suddenly in the last 14 months, when it was clear that PIF’s connection with the Saudi government were the problem for the approval. Also, they were surprised how the deal ended so suddenly and in somehow secret manner.(3.60) NEWCASTLE (3.50) TOTTENHAM (2.15)It was the most hypocritical part of the meeting, where ‘smaller’ clubs had to remind the ‘big guns’ of the manner in which Super League was created. During the meeting, the Premier League executive Richard Masters repeated that the league had no option but to approve the deal once they had legal assurances of separation between the Saudi state and PIF, but pointed out to the clubs that they do still have the power to act if a lack separation between PIF and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia becomes apparent.„This is mainly an issue for the bigger clubs, although there are concerns over the immediate impact on the relegation battle,’ an executive from one side explained. They are nervous that precious Champions League places have suddenly got harder to come by. A lot of the smaller clubs are pretty relaxed about it“ said one executive who went to the meeting to Daily Mail.Gerrard and Lampard among the top candidates to sit in the dugout of Saudi-fueled NewcastleOne of the main reasons for fury is certainly the Champions League place, which will be even harder to achieve now, and the clubs on the brink, like Spurs or Arsenal are very aware of that. Also, calls for moral dilemma’s over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record is pure hypocrisy, since other clubs have owners with no clean background.„They are petrified. The other big clubs all want to get into the Champions League, and six into four doesn’t go. Seven into four is even harder. The moral and ethical route they are trying to go down doesn’t hold any water when you look at the backgrounds of the existing owners. We have got oligarchs, sovereign wealth funds, companies registered in the Cayman Islands. So this is a form of protectionism. There is no doubt that these clubs have lobbied the Premier League in order to prevaricate the deal” Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told Football Insider.
