Newcastle United's Saudi owners could dispose of the club to fund a takeover of Manchester United, a financial expert has predicted.
A consortium including the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia completed a £305m buy-out in 2021, ending Mike Ashley's ownership of the club. The Magpies have seen their on-pitch fortunes improve over the last 12 months, and sit third in the Premier League during the break for the World Cup after losing just one of their first 15 games.
There has been Saudi interest in Man Utd in the past, though it has never come to anything while the Glazer family have remained in charge of the club. The American owners are open to a sale, though, prompting increased speculation about both them and Newcastle.
"The strength of Manchester United rests on the passion and loyalty of our global community of 1.1 billion fans and followers," Avram and Joel Glazer said in a statement in November. "As we seek to continue building on the Club’s history of success, the Board has authorised a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives.
"We will evaluate all options to ensure that we best serve our fans and that Manchester United maximises the significant growth opportunities available to the Club today and in the future. Throughout this process we will remain fully focused on serving the best interests of our fans, shareholders, and various stakeholders.”
Saudi Arabia sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal said the government of the gulf state would support private bids for the Red Devils, or for Liverpool after comments from the Merseyside club's owners FSG about potential investment. PIF would be unable to own two clubs simultaneously, though, prompting professor and financial expert Simon Chadwick to entertain the idea of Newcastle's owners jumping ship.
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“ Newcastle United has always seemed like an opportunistic purchase and I think in essence the deal for Newcastle was sold heavily to them by intermediaries,” Chadwick - professor of sport and geopolitical economy at SKEMA Business School - told The Athletic. “You had a willing seller and the amount of money they paid is small change.
“The opportunistic purchase of Newcastle, I think, was a consequence of being kicked back by Manchester United in the first place. There probably will be a certain amount of disbelief amongst Saudi officials having bought Newcastle when they really wanted to buy Manchester United.
"They are now in a position where they could potentially buy Manchester United. I might be going out on a bit of a limb here, but it is not entirely inconceivable that they could dispose of Newcastle and buy Manchester United.”
Reports of Saudi interest in Man Utd are nothing new. Back in 2018, the club played down talk of a sale after claims of interest from Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, while there was further talk of a bid in late 2019 after initial approaches were knocked back.
