Manchester United cannot allow further delays to their takeover in the same way Newcastle United saw Mike Ashley's ownership extended by an additional 18 months.
While the North East club may now be upwardly-mobile after investing over £250 million in their playing squad, backing by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund was a long time coming. Interest from the kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) emerged in January 2020, two years after the public face of their bid Amanda Staveley first attempted to buy the club in 2018.
All seemed straightforward after agreeing to a £300m deal with Ashley. A request to undertake the Premier League's Owners' and Directors' Test was swiftly filed in April 2020 by the PIF-backed consortium comprised of Staveley's firm PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben Brothers. An initially anticipated four-week wait for a decision came and went, with Premier League chief executive Richard Masters refusing to comment, or place a time frame on the ongoing matter.
