Brighton owner Tony Bloom has warned that Premier League clubs have "to be careful" regarding state ownership as he warned over the potential for the level of competition to diminish as a knock-on effect.
Newcastle United were taken over by an investment group led by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021. The £305million deal to buy the club from Mike Ashley was a long-running saga which the Premier League took 18 months to approve.
Critics claim that the current ownership of Newcastle amounts to state ownership - something denied by the board., and the Brighton owner Bloom has now warned fellow top-flight teams that they need to be cautious of state ownership going forward in order to preserve the competitive nature of the league.
ALSO READ: Newcastle United told they have 'great chance' of Champions League football amid top four chase
"The most important thing is that any kind of state ownership - we're not in favour - because potentially it gives those clubs a significant financial advantage over us," he told The Beautiful Game podcast. "We are where we are. We can't keep looking back and saying 'if only', we've got to deal with the here and now.
"The best way we can deal with the here now is to make sure the regulations are as tight as possible, but there are controls on spending so that the league maintains its competitiveness. But also, we don't go down the route of European Super League where a small number of clubs are guaranteed their place and clubs like ours and others can't progress and strive for that top level football.
"If you take that meritocracy away if you take that dream away, then you're completely changing everything all of us have grown up with in this country and I don't agree with that. I don't think state ownership necessarily leads to that. I don't think necessarily there is a way in which state ownership forces that to happen, but we just got to be careful that we don't lose our competitive nature, from the top of the pyramid to the bottom because that's what we all love."
READ NEXT:
Sven Botman response impresses Newcastle United boss in telling moment after City Ground incident
- Miguel Almiron injury absence revealed
- Alexander Isak delivers verdict after win at Nottingham Forest
- Forest display keeps Newcastle right in Champions League hunt
- Player ratings after Newcastle beat Forest 2-1
