Clubs seek answers to fresh Newcastle takeover claims

Leaked WhatsApp messages appear to contradict the 'legally binding assurances' of the separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state

- Miguel Delaney

Premier League club executives are seeking more answers from England’s top division after leaked WhatsApp messages suggest that Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman controlled the October 2021 takeover of Newcastle United, which would directly contradict the so-called “legally binding assurances” that there is separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state.

Senior figures at rival clubs remain furious that the purchase was allowed to go ahead, especially with how it has directly led to the current chaos engulfing elite football through the Manchester City associated party transaction (APT) case.

The story, reported by the Daily Telegraph, has also raised frustrations that complaints raised during the LIV Golf case in March 2023 were never pursued. Then, directly contradicting the Premier League’s “assurances”, PIF’s lawyers argued that the fund was “a sovereign instrumentality of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.

This was despite Premier League chief executive Richard Masters stating a mere month after the Newcastle takeover that there was a “corporate difference” between PIF and the Saudi state and that “if we find evidence to the contrary, we can remove the consortium as owners of the club”.

Businesswoman Amanda Staveley fronted the deal and went on to become a minority co-owner and club director, a role she left in July after selling her shares.

Staveley’s lawyers told the Telegraph that she “only ever referenced the Crown Prince in his capacity as chairman of PIF”, and to suggest there hasn’t been independence from the Saudi state in the running of the club “is as illogical as it is misconceived”.