Martyn Ziegler has predicted the ‘endgame’ for the proposed £300m takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium after the news that the Premier League have extended its Middle East/North Africa (MENA) TV deal with beIN Sports until 2025.
This prompted Daily Mail journalist Rob Draper to suggest that the prospective deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group is now at an ‘endgame’, with The Times journalist Ziegler replying: ‘Looks like that yes.’
looks like that yes
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) December 17, 2020
Is the Newcastle takeover bid now at the ‘endgame’?
With the news that the English top flight have extended their MENA TV deal with beIN Sports, it may well spell the ‘endgame’ for the proposed takeover by the KSA group at St. James’ Park.
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Given the conflicts between England’s top flight and the Saudis over piracy issues caused by the illegal streaming of games from the EPL in the Kingdom, added to the strained relationship that the country has with Qatar, it would perhaps be very difficult now to find a solution that would push through the prospective takeover bid.
Nonetheless, there is still hope that it can be resurrected, but the legal disputes between the Tyneside club and the league itself would likely have to be settled in an arbitration hearing in front of a judge.
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That said, the fact that the people of the KSA would still have to illegally stream if they want to watch matches from the Premier League will surely remain a cause for concern.
In other news, find out which NUFC ace has blasted his side’s display versus Leeds here!
