The arrival of the Saudi royal family – and all its oil fortune – to Newcastle could break with the order established in the Premier League and consequently English clubs began to close ranks. In an emergency meeting held this Monday between the 20 teams of the First Division, it was voted to block Newcastle sponsorships to prevent them from benefiting from deals with companies with which the Saudi government already has relationships.
18 out of 20 clubs voted in favor, Manchester City abstained and Newcastle voted against it in a meeting held by the representatives of each club.
According to The Guardian, City’s abstention is due to the fact that, according to its legal advice, the voted initiative would be illegal. In addition, the citizen team, owned by the Emirati Abu Dhabi United Group, already incurred in maneuvers of this type when sponsored by Etihad Airways, one of the flag airlines of the United Arab Emirates.
The clubs want legal assurance that this will not happen or that if it happens it will be done in “fair to market” economic terms. This measure will begin to apply for the next three weeks on a temporary basis, although the clubs want it to be established permanently.
Since the prince and heir to the Saudi crown, Mohamed Bin Salman, became the majority shareholder of Newcastle In exchange for 354 million euros alarms were triggered in English football, which was slow to approve the landing of the tycoon. According to estimated figures, Bin Salman’s fortune would triple that of the owners of the other 19 clubs that make up the Premier, where for a long time the City of the Qataris and the Chelsea of the Russian Roman Abramovich reign at will.
In the last presentation of Newcastle, with a 2-3 defeat against Tottenham at home, the new president of operations, Saudi Yasir Al-Rumayyan, in company with minority shareholder Amanda Staveley, and was welcomed by fans of the team four times champion of England: 1904/05, 1906/07, 1908/09 and 1926/27.
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