When Newcastle United consider how to turn a club around and spend heavily while being mindful of not sailing too close to UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules, they might be tempted to use Everton as an example of how difficult things can get.
Starved of success under the unambitious ownership of Sports Direct supremo Mike Ashley for 14 years, Newcastle fans were in jubilant mood outside St James' Park in October last year after it was confirmed the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF), PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers had completed a takeover worth £300m.
PIF, the £380bn fund that manages investments globally on behalf of the Saudi state, has been met with widespread criticism in the football world due to Saudi Arabia's questionable history over human rights, its treatment of the LGBTQ community and the questions over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia’s Turkish embassy in October 2018.
