Newcastle United now have the richest owners in football after the Saudi Arabian-backed £305 million takeover was completed on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) finalised the takeover on Thursday after financing 80 per cent of the bid which was launched by the Amanda Staveley-led consortium.
PIF currently has assets worth up to £320 billion, which puts them clear at the top of football’s rich list ahead of Qatar’s Investment Authority, which owns PSG and has assets that are worth around £220bn.
Manchester City now have Premier League’s second-richest owner in Sheikh Mansour, who has invested more than £1.3bn since taking over the club in 2008, worth around £21billion.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who purchased the London team for £140m in 2003, currently ranks third on the Premier League list with his £10.5bn fortune.
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is also fourth on the Premier League list with his assets which is worth £7.8bn.
FOOTBALL’S RICHEST OWNERS
Newcastle United | Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund | £320bn
PSG | Qatar Investment Authority | £220bn
Rennes | Francois Pinault | £31bn
Manchester City | Sheikh Mansour | £21bn
RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg | Dietrich Mateschitz | £17.8bn
Juventus | Andrea Agnelli | £14bn
Nice | Sir Jim Ratcliffe | £10.8bn
Chelsea | Roman Abramovich | £10.5bn
LA Galaxy | Philip Anschutz | £8.1bn
Arsenal | Stan Kroenke | £7.8bn
Speaking after completing the takeover on Thursday, Staveley said that the plan was to transform Newcastle United in the same way as Man City and PSG.
‘Of course we have the same ambitions as Manchester City and PSG in terms of trophies, absolutely, but that will take time,’ Staveley told Sportsmail.
‘Do we want to win the Premier League within five to 10 years? Yes. ‘This takeover is hugely transformative. We want to see trophies. But trophies need investment, time, patience and team work.’
In another interview with Sky Sports, Staveley pledged that Newcastle United’s team will be bolstered with new signings.
‘We’ve got a great squad,’ she said. ‘I had a great chat with Jamaal [Lascelles] tonight as captain. We’re really excited about strengthening the squad, but we have to work within Financial Fair Play and make sure this is done over a longer term.
‘But you can know and be reassured that we want to invest at every level. We want to get the best squad we possibly can.
‘Everybody talks about it [big signings], but what you need is a team that works well together. That’s also just as important.’
