Newcastle Arabs takeover is back on! What moved the deal?

Could Newcastle become the next club in England to be sponsored by oil? The summer 2020 deal for a Saudi consortium to take over the club is a little closer again. What was actually behind the stalling of the deal?

Back in the summer of 2020, a Saudi consortium came in with a £300m offer. Controversial Newcastle owner Mike Ashley was willing to sell the club.

The question at the time was whether the Saudi bidders could pass the test of the owners and directors of the league, which assesses the suitability of owners for the league and the club.

The deal sent the Saudi government’s position on the beIN Sport broadcaster to the ice in the summer of 2020. That station, from rival Qatar, has in fact been banned in the country.

The Premier League was very bothered by this position, as beIN Sport is the official broadcaster of the competition in the Middle East. Moreover, this has encouraged pirate sites in Saudi Arabia.

Now, however, the attitude of the government in the country has reversed, and it is now willing to lift the ban on beIN Sport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This should mean significant progress in the final deal to take over the club from the north of England.

The broadcaster beIN Sport is even already discussing a £400 million (equivalent to about £12 billion) bid that would make it the agent for the top English league in the Middle East.

While it looks like the issue of broadcasting rights in the country has been resolved, it remains unknown how the Premier League will deal with alleged human rights abuses in the country.

Source: BBC, The Athletic