The PIF-led takeover of Newcastle United has led to a major upturn in fortunes at St James Park over the last four years.
After years of limited investment and ambition under the club’s former owner, the Magpies have enjoyed some truly historic moments since a Saudi-led consortium completed a reported £320m takeover in October 2021. Just weeks after taking control, the new St James Park hierarchy appointed Eddie Howe as Magpies manager and backed him in the transfer market as the likes of Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimaraes joined the club during the January transfer window.
Howe guided his new-look side to the safety of mid-table by the time the 2021/22 season came to a close before leading Newcastle to their first major cup final since 1999 and into the Champions League during his first full season in charge. The return to European football’s top table was marked in fine fashion with a goalless draw at Serie A giants AC Milan before a night for the ages at St James Park brought a 4-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain.
Despite missing out on Europe at the end of the season following Manchester United’s FA Cup final win against Manchester City, the mood on Tyneside remained positive as the 2024/25 season approached. There were difficult moments that included an ongoing battle with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations as the Magpies were forced into the unwanted sales of academy product Elliot Anderson and young winger Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively.
Howe’s unquestionable talent as a manager and a coach was severely tested last season – but the campaign will go down as the greatest in the Magpies recent history as they lifted major domestic silverware for the first time since 1955 with a Carabao Cup final win against Liverpool and landed a place in the Champions League once again.
With the summer transfer window now open for business, the Magpies are believed to be in a positive state in their battle with PSR and despite some reported transfer targets heading elsewhere, there is a belief at least three strong additions can be made before the new season.
Much has been made of Newcastle being unable to really unleash the spending power of their PIF-led owners – but how much are the current Magpies owners worth compared to their Premier League rivals?
How much are Newcastle United’s PIF-led owners worth compared to their Premier League rivals?
1. Newcastle United (Saudi Public Investment Fund, RB Sports & Media) – £478billion 2. Manchester United (The Glazer family, Sir Jim Ratcliffe) – £19.2billion 3. Aston Villa (Wes Edens, Nassef Sawiris) – £13.8billion 4. Manchester City (Abu Dhabi Group, Silver Lake) – £12.9billion 5. Chelsea (Todd Boehly, Hansjorg Wyss, Mark Walter) – £12.2billion 6. Arsenal (Stan Kroenke) – £10billion 7. Liverpool (John W. Henry, Tom Werner) – £7.57billion) 8. Fulham (Shahid Khan) – £6.1billion 9. West Ham United (David Sullivan, Vanessa Gold, Daniel Kretinsky) – £8billion 10. Wolverhampton Wanderers (Guo Guangchang, Liang Xinjun, Wang Qunbin) – £5.3billion 11. Everton (Roundhouse Capital Holdings Ltd) – £5.3billion 12. Leeds United (49ers Enterprises) – £5.2billion 13. Tottenham Hotspur (Joe Lewis, Daniel Levy) – £4.5billion 14. Crystal Palace (Steve Parish, John Textor, David Blitzer, Josh Harris) – £4.3billion 15. Sunderland (Kyril Louis-Dreyfus) – £2billion 16. Bournemouth (William P. Foley) – £1.2billion 17. Brighton and Hove Albion (Tony Bloom) – £1billion 18. Nottingham Forest (Evangelos Marinakis) – £479million 19. Brentford (Matthew Benham) – £220m 20. Burnley (Alan Pace) – £190million
