Newcastle proving a hard sell as Mike Ashley waits on serious bids

Mike Ashley is no closer to selling Newcastle United.
Mike AshleyMike Ashley
Mike Ashley

A report over the weekend claimed that Ashley had dropped his asking price for the Premier League club to £380million – and that “several” potential buyers had signed non-disclosure agreements.

However, the Gazette understands that Ashley is yet to discuss a price with any interested party.

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Ashley spoke about his willingness to sell the club last month. The billionaire – who bought the Magpies a decade ago – is unwilling to put any more of his money into the club.

And Ashley invited bids in a high-profile interview last month.

“If somebody would like come along and take this seat and fund Newcastle with a nought on the end with their wealth more than me, I will not stand in Newcastle United’s way,” said Ashley.

“One of the reasons I’m doing this interview is that I don’t think you’ll find there’s many people out there who will actually stand up and do it.

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“I think we’re going to be together a good while longer and we’ve got the man in Rafa (Benitez) and let’s hope that we can generate some funds and we give him some chance to get some building blocks going over the coming years.”

Ashley is still exploring a full or partial sale of the club, but there isn’t yet a serious bidder at the table.

That could quickly change over the coming weeks.