What 'emotional' Yasir Al-Rumayyan did after Newcastle United 4-3 win v Nottingham Forest at St James' Park
Newcastle United chairman and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in the stands at St James’ Park to watch the 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest.
The Premier League thriller saw Lewis Miley, Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak score twice to get Newcastle back to winning ways after consecutive league defeats. It saw the side move up to fifth in the table and back into Champions League qualification contention heading into the final dozen games of the league campaign.
Al-Rumayyan made his way down the tunnel at full-time and shared a brief exchange with head coach Eddie Howe reflecting on the eventful game. Newcastle led 4-1 at half-time before second-half strikes from Nikola Milenkovic and Ryan Yates set up a nervous end for the hosts.
Al-Rumayyan flew to Newcastle on Sunday morning after speaking at the FII Priority event in Miami during the week. It is understood the chairman is on Tyneside with big decisions to be made regarding the future of St James’ Park and the Newcastle training ground.
When asked about his interaction with Al-Rumayyan at full-time, Howe explained: “[We spoke] very briefly after the game, just for 10-15 seconds before coming to see you guys [at the press conference].
“I'm not 100% sure [what was said]. It was just good to see him. A couple of swear words from me about the game, I think! But he was in the same emotional place where I was. So it was a nice moment.”
Eddie Howe reflects on Newcastle United win
Reflecting on his side’s win, Howe said: "I am trying to control my thoughts and stay positive. We have won the game and that is what we needed to do. I thought it was a great performance in the first half and we were everything we weren't at Manchester City. We didn't manage the game well but overall we are happy with the win.
"It was always a difficult game and when they took the early lead you know you have an big task. I thought we were great with the ball ad looked dynamic but then a couple of frailties showed in terms of defending set plays. When you win win and you have things to improve, that is a good start point. That's what I'll take away from today.”
Yasir Al-Rumayyan comments on Newcastle United ahead of visit
Al-Rumayyan was quick to namecheck Newcastle when discussing PIF’s investment in sport at the FII Priority summit during the week. PIF’s takeover of Newcastle for around £300million in October 2021 was the investment fund’s first major foray into football.
Over three years on, PIF own a majority stake in five professional football clubs - Newcastle and four Saudi Pro League clubs Al-Ittihad, Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli and Al-Nassr.
“So, [the] sports sector is one of the 13 different sectors that we're really focusing on as part of our strategy,” Al-Rumayyan said. “The first thing that we've done was in football - or ‘soccer’ - [was] we bought a Newcastle football club and we did extremely well.”
Al-Rumayyan and Newcastle will be looking to continue the club’s progress on and off the field in the coming months with big decisions to be made over the future.