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News
UEFA could block record-breaking sponsor deals as PIF want to ‘shower Newcastle United with gifts’
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 respec🌄tive 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 los💜e 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 flওexibility.
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 sho♉ut of qualifying for the Champions Leaꦜgue 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 –ꦦ could potentially restack the house of cards in ter꧅ms of PIF’s ability to fund and spend at St James’ Park.
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 Lea♈gue’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-competitiv൩e.
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 bac🐈kdoor 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’ Pa𒈔rk boardroom, City – whose case is separate to their 115 charges – have now lau🐟nched 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 com🎃panies linked to their owners.
Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, however, Liverpool University football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire forecasts that European football’s governing bod💙🍃y’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 insid✱er.
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.”
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 mar💧ket, 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 assetsꦯ.
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🌌, me🌳rchandise and events.
The consensus among experts is that, although the project has been a slower burn than the revolutions at Chelsea or Man City, Newcastl🔜e will get there in the end.
But with the Premier League an increasingly competitive landscape financially, thereౠ is no room🌊 for complacency at NE1.