When Newcastle were taken over by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF) , it ruffled a few feathers – to say the very least.
To be straightforward, there was uproar.
Premier League clubs held an emergency meeting after the takeover went through, and also voted to stop the Magpies earning lucrative sponsorship deals under their new owners.
According to The Telegraph, there is also an ‘anyone but Newcastle’ policy on the horizon, as Premier League clubs would rather see the Toon Army relegated than do business with them.
Now, Amanda Staveley seems to have made a new enemy for Newcastle.
What’s the story?
Well, PIF were interested in buying Inter Milan.
However, Staveley recently revealed that their interest is over, with the ‘mess’ that is the structure and management of Serie A putting them off.
After hearing her comments, Luigi De Siervo – CEO of Serie A – hit back at the 48-year-old and PIF.
Calciomercato quote him as saying: “Whoever has made this statement proves that they do not know football and Italy. Probably they did it only to favour their own investment.”
Last thing Newcastle and Amanda Staveley need
Clearly, Newcastle aren’t the most popular side with Staveley and PIF running things at St James’ Park.
In that respect, they need to do all the networking they can to get some allies, and build up some relationships in the footballing world.
What isn’t wise is to call an entire top-flight a ‘mess’.
Now, if Newcastle want to sign a player from Serie A, it will be interesting to see how they react after Staveley’s remark.
Hopefully, PIF and Staveley will learn to be more political in football.
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