PIF using Newcastle United as a 'smokescreen' for new takeover plan masterminded by Amanda Staveley
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Amanda Staveley won hearts and minds in her tenure at St James’ Park and her exit came as a shock to Newcastle United supporters.
The financier, who was the public face of the takeover that saw the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) assume control on Tyneside in October 2021, is no looking for her next football investment project.
Staveley has been heavily linked with Tottenham and, speaking at a sports business conference last week, suggested she has a number of options on the table.
At the same event, she also emphasised how hard it had been to leave Newcastle, where she and her business partner and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi seemingly struck a genuine bond with fans.
She also helped Newcastle supercharge their commercial income, which was and remains key to unlocking PIF’s almost limitless spending under Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
The Magpies’ deal with Adidas was struck under her stewardship, as were the lucrative PIF-linked partnerships with Sela and Noon.
She was also very hands-on with the sporting operation. In fact, there has been suggested that, although she left the club on good terms, her overreach was the reason some wanted to move on from Staveley.
One element of her footballing vision for Newcastle was the development of a multi-club network.
PIF have since been linked with acquiring a number of outfits, including AS Monaco and clubs in the portfolio previously owned by 777 Partners, who have gone into liquidation.
Saudi Arabia are extending their football masterplan ahead of the 2034 World Cup, which they were awarded by FIFA after running unopposed in a controversial tender process.
Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire says this will accelerate PIF and Newcastle’s multi-club aspirations.
Newcastle a distraction for PIF’s broader multi-club plan, says finance expert
PIF control almost £750bn worth of assets, with an increasing number of those in sports or sports-adjacent sectors.
Recently, an analysis by the Play the Game organisation, whose self-stated aim is to ‘promote democracy, transparency, and freedom of expression‘, revealed the extent of their influence across sport.
PIF have an astonishing 910 sponsorships in sport and 1,410 positions of influence in 2010 Saudi sports entities, many in football.
They also have dozens of memorandums of understanding (MoUs), which are essentially strategic agreements, with football federations and clubs.
As well their ownership of Newcastle, they have strategic links with Sevilla, Espanyol, Sporting, FK Sarajevo, Juventus, and Valencia.
“To a certain extent, Newcastle are becoming a lightning rod for all the attention that Saudi Arabia are generating globally,” said Maguire, commenting on PIF’s expanding network.
That allows PIF to get their business done relatively unscathed elsewhere. For them, Newcastle is a fantastic smokescreen.
“In due course, once you have built the network, you can create a global brand, perhaps getting Adidas in as a kit sponsor across all the clubs. You can create a global brand.
“It is difficult for Newcastle to grow a brand individually. The likes of Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have already got their massive international fanbases.
“For Newcastle, it can be done through a network. Man City have shown that it can be done. They are trailing some of the more traditional clubs, however.
“There is a herd instinct in developing an overseas fanbase. Newcastle can use the multi-club strategy to leverage on that.”
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What is PIF’s long-term ambition at Newcastle?
A few months ago, there was some trepidation, cause by a handful of think-pieces online, that PIF’s interest in Newcastle was waning.
There is no doubt that the sovereign wealth fund has been frustrated by PSR, unlike in the Saudi Pro League where they have been able to sanction historic levels of spending.
Fuel was added to the fire when PIF governor and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan announced that PIF were cutting overseas investment in order to concentrate on their domestic product.
However, what many failed to realise was that Al-Rumayyan was talking about the percentage of their overseas investments, not the total outlay, which could actually increase as PIF’s international assets grow.
What’s more, the Saudis are also believed to be gearing up for a bit to buy a significant stake in Newcastle airport for around £1bn.
That, couple with the fact that they will also spend a similar amount on either revamping St James’ Park or building a new stadium entirely, does not exactly scream that they are keen to up sticks on Tyneside
Exactly what their long-term plan is, however, is not entirely certain.
Newcastle have been something of a loss leader for PIF to exert their influence in sport, but will they still have the same cultural sway in a decade’s time, when Saudi hosts the World Cup?
In briefings to journalists, PIF insist that they see Newcastle as an investment like any other.
That would indicate that they plan to one day extract money from the club, either through a sale or a dividend. The pathway to either of those situations is not clear.
