Newcastle co-owner makes Man City, Chelsea & Liverpool admission with £25m deal to be confirmed

After finishing fourth in the Premier League in the first full season under head coach Eddie Howe and the ownership of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, Newcastle United are preparing to compete in the Champions League once again. As a result, The Magpies are expected to significantly bolster their squad in the summer in preparation for European football.

Despite finishing above the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League table, Newcastle’s limited revenue in comparison poses Financial Fair Play restrictions. And Reuben admits that The Magpies will have to be more shrewd in the transfer market as some of their Premier League rivals will be able to spend more money than them this summer.

“With some of the other clubs, you’ve seen some of the amounts they’ve spent,” the Newcastle co-ower said on the Business of Sport Podcast. “Financial Fair Play means we can’t do that just yet so we need to make sure our pound has to go further than a Manchester City, a Chelsea or a Liverpool.”

Since the takeover in October 2021, Newcastle’s owners have invested significantly both on and off the field. Around £250million has been spent on new players over the last three transfer windows while the club’s training ground has been given a significant revamp over the past 12 months.

The owners have also purchased the Strawberry Place land next to St James’ Park, providing renewed hope of a stadium expansion.

United are also closing in on a club record sponsorship deal worth £25million-per-season with Saudi events management company Sela. The deal will be crucial in helping Newcastle remain competitive on and off the pitch as Rebuen insists the club are ‘adamant’ about adhering Financial Fair Play regulations.

“It’s a correlation of what your goals and ambitions are,” he added. “If you want to elevate the team, we’ve seen transfer prices keep going up so it costs money to bring in players and it seems like that will continue to go up.

“There might be blips, but that seems to be on an upward track. In order to meet Financial Fair Play, which we’re adamant that we’re going to do, we’re going to play by the rules and we’re long-term investors, you need to invest in your stadium, you need to invest in your infrastructure, you need to invest in other non-footballing parts of your business to get the commercial revenue up in order to financially invest on the pitch and elevate your status which is a longer-term plan.”

The summer transfer window opens for Premier League clubs on Wednesday, June 14 and closes on Friday, September 1. Newcastle are yet to agree any deals ahead of the window opening but have an interest in several players across the Premier League including Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney and Leicester City’s James Maddison.