Amanda Staveley has admitted that Newcastle United's owners 'bought well' to purchase a 'special' club for a fraction of the price Chelsea were sold for just seven months later.
Although Newcastle were in relegation trouble at the time, and required sizeable investment at all levels of the club, the £305m Staveley's consortium landed the club for has come to represent something of a bargain. Chelsea, in contrast, went for a whopping £4.25bn last May.
These are clubs who have moved in very different directions ever since after using contrasting approaches. Scattergun Chelsea are languishing in 11th place, despite the club spending around £350m more than Newcastle's owners on new players to date, whereas the considered Magpies are bidding to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
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However, in a talk at MIPIM, the world's largest real estate conference, it was put to Staveley that Chelsea had gone for a 'very attractive' rate, given the currency drop against the dollar, which 'worked in Todd Boehly's favour'. Staveley was then asked if there were any other 'trends' she was seeing or was it 'brand equity' that attracted her to Newcastle in the first place?
"What attracted us was Newcastle," she said. "We bought well. We bought it at under two times' revenue. Chelsea was bought at around five to six times' revenue, which is a full price, but Todd is making a bet on where that market is going to go.
"There's going to be continued investment into the Premier League and into sports rights because sports rights are always live. Live rights are so compelling.
"Newcastle was different because it's just a special place for us. It doesn't feel like investment anymore for us - it just feels like life and a mission to grow this business. We fell in love with the community and the fans."
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