The Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) have blamed the Premier League for the collapse of the proposed takeover of Newcastle United.
In the comments made in the official statement by PIF, relayed by both Keith Downie and Mark Douglas on their official Twitter pages, they say that “time itself became an enemy of the transaction” and that their “investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities.”
PCP/PIF: “Time itself became an enemy of the transaction, particularly during this difficult phase marked by the many real challenges facing us all from Covid-19.” #NUFC
— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) July 30, 2020
…and our investment thesis could not be sustained, particularly with no clarity as to the circumstances under which the next season will start and the new norms that will arise for matches, training and other activities." 2/2
— Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) July 30, 2020
Indeed, they simply ran out of patience with the Premier League and its chief executive Richard Masters and with the new 2020/21 season fast approaching, coupled up with the official opening of the summer transfer window after the previous 2019/20 campaign had finished, they have sadly decided to pull the plug on the £300 million deal with Mike Ashley.
Are the Premier League to blame for the Newcastle takeover collapse?
Yes
No
However, this may not be the end for the Tyneside club. There has been no further news as of yet that the proposed £350 million bid from Henry Mauriss has also collapsed given also that the American businessman had been in talks with Ashley fairly recently.
Nevertheless, the prospective takeover by the Saudi Arabian-led group is now over and so Mauriss may be the Toon Army’s only chance for their beloved club to be taken over.
Putting Mauriss’ reported bid aside, all eyes will surely now be on the top flight and Masters himself as to what exactly took so long given that the whole saga had been going on for four months.
On a more positive note, Steve Bruce will at least be able to enter the market with a clearer head as he will surely have more clarity now on just how much money that he will have available to spend.
However, this is not good news overall for the Magpies, as there patient waiting seems to be over.
Geordies, are you surprised by this news? Comment below!
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