The full effect of Newcastle United's Saudi-backed takeover can perhaps be best understood in the heart of Riyadh.
Of course, United supporters 3,200 miles away back home have watched on with joy as the club has transformed from annual relegation battlers to European contenders in just 12 months. But after Newcastle 's proud chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan addressed players over dinner at his home in Riyadh, Eddie Howe and his staff were told to keep aiming high.
Howe said: "It was, ‘Well done but we want more, we’re very ambitious.’" And it fits into the mantra of the club's main backers PIF who dream big in Saudi Arabia.
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Soaring 1,260 feet above the city stands the PIF Tower in the King Abdullah Financial District. The 80-story building is the tallest in Riyadh and symbolises the ambition of PIF. It's clear that Toon supremo Al-Rumayyan, who was left beaming as Newcastle lifted the Diriyah Season Cup, is enjoying the project that finally got under way in October 2021.
Huge posters of Newcastle players dominate billboards around the city and the United team bus - with Jamaal Lascelles and Miguel Almiron's faces emblazoned across it - is greeted with excitement wherever it goes. Supporters of Al-Hilal could not have offered a warmer welcome as they made love gestures with their hands and waved enthusiastically to fans and journalists around the ground before, during and after the 5-0 win for Newcastle.
Summing up that excitement is Toon fan Abdullah Alqashami of Riyadh, he said: "It's really special that Newcastle here and to be able to meet the players and staff. "We know the expectation of the team and we have heard Darren Eales share his vision for the future.
"This gives us hope that our team is in safe hands. We have Amanda Staveley, Darren and PIF, all of them have us walking down the right track. They will improve the team. For 12 years our fans suffered and we know who made us suffer. "Now our vision and hopes, and expectations have changed."
Roy Kaviani, who travelled from Doha, said: "It was amazing to see the club communicating with all of the fans. "It's just communicating and the club is back with the fans, it's all we wanted, and that has happened now. Everybody is over the moon including me. "I hadn't seen the team play since 2018 so it was amazing."
Staveley addressed supporters at the international Fan Event along with CEO Eales. And the message to emerge was very much to remind supporters of the long-term ambition at the club.
The Ripon financier also wanted to thank fans for their "patience" after the four-year wait for the takeover to go through. Eales was asked about the ambitions of this season with European places and two cups still up for grabs and unlike previous owners he quickly opted against playing down expectations.
Indeed, Eales, who has had 100 days in the job now, spoke about pushing on all fronts but also insisting that the club were on "a journey" which the input of supporters will be a vital component.
United's new owners inherited a lot of locked-up potential when they became custodians of the club in 2021 but day by days they are cracking the codes at St James' Park and the future looks extremely bright. One glance at the tallest building in Riyadh shows that PIF are prepared to reach for the skies.
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