Newcastle United had just qualified for the Champions League following the Magpies' best league finish in two decades. It was a season where Eddie Howe's side reached a first cup final in 24 years. "Did we expect to do that?" chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan asked. "Yes."
In his first sit-down interview with NUFC TV, Al-Rumayyan said that he was 'quite happy' with the team's results after Newcastle went from fighting relegation to finishing in the top four in the space of little more than a year. Quite happy? These are now the standards at the club.
In fact, Al-Rumayyan went on to state that Newcastle should 'have an ambition and aspiration to be number one'. That statement felt like a warning to the rest of the Premier League. Newcastle, clearly, are not happy with just being in and amongst the elite.
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To think, less than two years ago, the previous regime issued a faceless statement that, rather tellingly, no club employee was prepared to put their name to. "Our commitment to being run in a sustainable manner...does not come at the expense of being ambitious," an excerpt read.
This was an era of 'budgetary parameters' where even a loan move for Hamza Choudhury proved a bridge too far, where 'breaking all the rules' meant paying Joe Willock's transfer fee in instalments. It is a different club now and Al-Rumayyan's words were a reminder of that.
It remains to be seen if Al-Rumayyan will finally take wider questions from reporters and address Saudi Arabia's appalling human rights record, which the PIF governor has yet to do. However, the release of Al-Rumayyan's first English-speaking interview about the club felt significant - four weeks after it was first recorded.
Earlier this month, after all, the PIF announced that they had taken over Saudi Arabia's four largest clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr. In a bid to effectively relaunch the Saudi Pro League, the PIF have targeted a host of experienced internationals to market the league.
Karim Benzema and Ruben Neves have since joined Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi and N'Golo Kante won't be the only player to leave Chelsea for the riches of the Kingdom, with Edouard Mendy, Hakim Ziyech and Kalidou Koulibaly all set to follow. These are players Chelsea would have once struggled to have raised major funds for while also getting their sizable wages off the books yet the Blues have found willing buyers in Saudi.
Given the PIF's long-standing relationship with Chelsea's owners, that has raised one or two eyebrows, with Gary Neville even calling for an 'instant embargo' on moves to Saudi Arabia until the Premier League look into the ownership structure at Chelsea and whether there are 'beneficial transfer dealings that are improper'. However, as ChronicleLive confirmed, during the purchase of Chelsea last year, the Blues' owners stressed that the PIF formed no part of the club's proposed ownership structure. Chelsea's owners even provided specific reassurances that the PIF would not, and could not, be an investor in the future.
Although the PIF will end up easing Chelsea's Financial Fair Play issues, just a few weeks after Eddie Howe predicted the Blues would be a 'big threat' under new boss Mauricio Pochettino, that does not mean their commitment to Newcastle has wavered. Quite the opposite.
Newcastle are closing in on a move for AC Milan star Sandro Tonali and the Magpies will look to bring in another 'elite' addition to help take this side to the next level and build on last season's top four finish. Al-Rumayyan's first address was a reminder of that.
"The more revenue we will have, the more players we will have ready," he vowed. "When I say players, I mean all 11 positions, the whole squad, the 25."
It feels like Newcastle are only getting started.
