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PIF could take Newcastle United on ‘global tour’ as £100m target lined up
Adam Williams
6 – 7 minutes
Blueprints for St James’ Park 2.0 being drawn up, a first trophy in 70 years in the bag, and Champions League football in the crosshairs again – it’s a good time to be a Newcastle United fan.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) have transformed the club piecemeal over the last four years, developing soft and hard infrastructure to give Eddie Howe and club executives a platform for success.
Hire good people, give them good resources, and let them get on with their jobs. That has been the M.O at Newcastle United and it is bearing fruit in more ways than one.
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Success on the pitch begets success in the revenue department. And vice-versa. Winning the League Cup, for instance, generates next to no prize money but will lead to a commercial boom.
That in turn will feed back into the club’s coffers and increase Newcastle’s headroom under both the Premier League and UEFA’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Infographic explaining the PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules, formerly known as FFP) for Premier League, Championship and UEFA clubs
PSR infographic. Credit: Adam Williams, GRV Media
PSR is the only thing limiting PIF’s ambitions on Tyneside but plans to build a new money-printing stadium next to St James’ Park will transform revenue and give them far more purchasing power.
In any case, Newcastle won’t have the Premier League’s PSR enforcers breathing down their necks to quite same extent this summer as has been the case previously.
The £73m loss they made in 2021-22 is now no longer part of the equation and has been replaced by a much more modest £11m loss for 2023-24.
Chart showing Newcastle United’s profit and loss account from 2006-07 to 2023-24
Newcastle United profit and loss account Credit: Adam Williams/TBR Football/GRV Media
With a positive net spend in the transfer market this season and with much of their income ‘pure profit’ in PSR terms, the losses should be less damaging than in previous in 2024-25 too.
Next term, Newcastle could well be in the Champions League, especially given that a 5th-place finish in the Premier League is expected to secure qualification thanks to UEFA’s league coefficient system.
Last night’s convincing win over Leicester City means their European fate is in their own hands too.
Basically, things are looking good for Newcastle and PIF. Speaking exclusively to TBR Football, University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire explains how they might be about to capitalise.
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Newcastle United’s League Cup triumph will spark commercial boom
Newcastle are yet to formally announce a pre-season tour ahead of 2025-26, although recent reports have suggested that they could be on their way to East Asia once more.
Last season, the Magpies flew out to Australia for a post-season friendly against Tottenham just two days after the two sides had finished their respective seasons. Then, later in the summer, they toured Japan.
Year Countries visited by Newcastle United
2025 South Korea, Singapore
2024 Germany, Japan, Australia
2023 United States
2022 Germany, Portugal, Saudi Arabia
2021 None [Covid]
2020 None [Covid]
2019 China, Spain
2018 Republic of Ireland, Portugal, Spain
2017 Germany
2016 Republic of Ireland, Belgium, Spain
2015 United States
Japan is a key market for technical partner Adidas and was used as a springboard to launch the pair’s lucrative kit deal. The destination also spoke to Newcastle’s commercial ambitions in the region.
They appear to be targeting East Asia ahead of other go-to markets like the United States as, according to reports, Singapore and South Korea are on the agenda this summer.
Increasingly, pre-season tours are seen by chiefs as a beachhead to strike region-specific sponsorships, expand their brands, and get new customers – or fans, as they used to be known – into the sales funnel.
And, as Maguire explains, this summer could provide a unique opportunity for Newcastle to parade the League Cup trophy around the world.
“Newcastle want to position themselves as the senior challenger club to the Big Six,” the Price of Football author told TBR Football.
“All the others are earning £200-300m in commercial income – that is an area they need to deal with, otherwise they are never going to be able to catch up. They will be looking at £100m.
Chart showing Newcastle United’s commercial income compared to Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea
Newcastle United commercial income Vs. the Big Six Credit: Adam Williams/GRV Media/TBR Football
“They need to globalise the fanbase and there is nothing more that commercial partners love than having their product next to silverware. Trophies tick that box.
“Newcastle will be keeping the League Cup in prime condition. They will be trying to get it on as global a tour as possible in order to get more deals over the line.
“Newcastle don’t have the embedded fanbase internationally that Manchester United, Liverpool or the London clubs but they have the investment to improve the infrastructure to try and close that gap.”
READ MORE: Sean Dyche shares what he’s been told about Eddie Howe and the England job
PIF slash budgets as £27bn shortfall emerges
Newcastle supporters’ hearts might have skipped a beat if they happened to have seen one or two headlines in the Arab Gulf of late.
For some time now, the mood music coming from the Public Investment Fund and other chambers in the Saudi business ecosystem is that the nation is looking to reduce foreign investment.
Map showing the nationalities of every owner or co-owner in the Premier League
CREDIT: Adam Williams – TBR Football / GRV Media
Newcastle, ostensibly, come under the umbrella.
And with the news that Saudi Arabia is forecasting a budget deficit of over £20bn in 2025 – and that came before Donald Trump’s programme of tariffs – could funding for Newcastle be about to dry up?
In short, no.
Newcastle make up barely one per cent of one per cent of PIFs portfolio in terms of asset value, and the ambition is for the club to be a loss leader – for the time being, at least.
In any case, PIF governor and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has said that, while foreign spending will be cut in percentage terms, the actual amount will g
o up as PIF expand their asset base.
