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UEFA could block record-breaking sponsor deals as PIF want to ‘shower Newcastle United with gifts’

Adam Williams

Mon 10 February 2025 19:00, UK Updated Tue 11 February 2025 11:35, UK

The brutal reality of the Premier League’s regulatory ecosystem is that it will be some time until Newcastle United’s dizzyingly ambitious owners are able to achieve their aims on Tyneside.

When the PIF bought the club in October 2021, many bedrock Newcastle fans envisioned a future much like Chelsea and Man City following Roman Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour’s respective takeovers.

However, the Saudi Public Investment Fund have been unable to spend at the level that have wanted to, almost entirely because of Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Under the current formation of PSR, clubs can lose no more than £105m over a rolling three-year period.

When you have designs to take a club from mid-table obscurity to the zenith of European football, that simply isn’t enough flexibility.

That said, PIF are well ahead of schedule in their masterplan in the North East – both in the Premier League table and in the balance sheets.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
2	ArsenalArsenal	24	14	8	2	49	22	27	50
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	24	14	5	5	40	27	13	47
4	ChelseaChelsea	24	12	7	5	47	31	16	43
5	Man CityManchester City	24	12	5	7	48	35	13	41
6	NewcastleNewcastle	24	12	5	7	42	29	13	41
7	B’mouthBournemouth	24	11	7	6	41	28	13	40
8	Aston VillaAston Villa	24	10	7	7	34	37	-3	37
9	FulhamFulham	24	9	9	6	36	32	4	36

Eddie Howe’s brilliantly coached side are into a second final of the PIF era and in with a shout of qualifying for the Champions League once again under Saudi ownership.

Premium European football would significantly raise revenue and give them more headroom in terms of PSR, which would in turn give them more leeway to spend in the transfer market.

And now, the latest news from Premier League HQ – where Newcastle’s owners are highly divisive – could potentially restack the house of cards in terms of PIF’s ability to fund and spend at St James’ Park.

• READ MORE: Newcastle are interested in signing rival Premier League star who Alan Shearer called ‘outstanding’

Newcastle United won’t strike unlimited sponsor deals even if Premier League APT rules overthrown

One of the biggest stories of 2024 – in sports business circles, at least – was Manchester City’s challenge to the Premier League’s Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules in the arbitration courts.

Their argument, which Newcastle gave evidence at the tribunal to support, was that the league’s rules on deals between clubs and owner-linked entities were anti-competitive.

The APT rules were introduced in the wake of the Newcastle takeover in 2021 and ostensibly are designed to prevent owners funding clubs via the backdoor through sponsorship deals.

Under the current system, which City’s partly successful challenge saw significantly revised, the Premier League must demonstrate that a transaction doesn’t meet fair market value standards in order to block it.

In a development that will be welcomed in the St James’ Park boardroom, City – whose case is separate to their 115 charges – have now launched a fresh challenge to the APT system.

As well as the retrospective appliance of interest rates to soft loans (AKA loans from club shareholders), City now want the APT system in its entirety declared null and void.

In theory, the removal of the fair market value element of the rules would give Newcastle and City carte blanche to strike much bigger commercial deals with companies linked to their owners.

Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, however, Liverpool University football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire forecasts that European football’s governing body’s rules will be a backstop.

“Even if it is abolished completely, you have still got UEFA’s rules and there is a fair market provision there,” said the Price of Football author and industry insider.

I think people focus on the Premier League as being the only game in town, but it’s not.

“At the same time, a relaxation of the fair market value provision, which has already been diluted, would be potentially beneficial for Newcastle.

It has to be said that PIF are taking a much more cautious approach than many Newcastle fans had wished for.

“They thought they were going to be showered with gifts. That hasn’t materialised and PSR has been the main driver of that. I can understand the frustration of Newcastle fans.

“In terms of how the Premier League would implement fair market value post-APT, they would still go through similar routes that they have at present.

“They would perhaps do them in-house and in alignment with UEFA to give some credibility to the approach.”

• READ MORE: Official paperwork exposes £820m PIF deal as Newcastle United owners helping Man City and Chelsea out

St James’ Park rebuild and transfer budget: How much can PIF spend at Newcastle?

Under PSR, PIF do not have a blank plate to spend as they please in the transfer market, but infrastructure is another matter.

Spending on facilities such as new stadia or the training ground is exempt from PSR, meaning PIF could inject billions to make them a destination club in terms of their bricks-and-mortar assets.

That is why the Saudis are ready to blast up to £2bn on a new stadium adjacent to St James Park, which would supercharge turnover once it opens its doors.

Newcastle’s commercial strategy is maturing quickly too, with the Magpies banking £75m in the last financial year from sponsorship, merchandise and events.

The consensus among experts is that, although the project has been a slower burn than the revolutions at Chelsea or Man City, Newcastle will get there in the end.

But with the Premier League an increasingly competitive landscape financially, there is no room for complacency at NE1.