Speaking on the BBC Radio Five Live Football Daily Podcast, Telegraph journalist Luke Edwards has shared what he knows about the proposed Newcastle United takeover.
The Magpies have been linked to a Saudi-based takeover for almost two years at this point, but for numerous reasons it hasn’t come to fruition.
However, it now seems as though the Tyneside club have cut through the red tape and this takeover could be on.
Edwards says that the Saudi government have paid out $1bn to BeIN Sports to get around the piracy issue that has been halting this takeover and he says that this deal is now on the brink of being announced.
What’s been said?
Edwards shared what he knows about the takeover.
“I’d have said this morning when I woke up, do I see the takeover happening? No definitely not. Suddenly though, at about midday today it suddenly emerged that through the backdoor talks had been going on in private,” Edwards said.
“The Saudi Arabian government had gone to the Premier League and said what do we need to do? They were told about the piracy issue and from what I’m hearing in a matter of days the piracy operations have been shut down. They’ve reached an agreement of I think $1bn with BeIN for damages and they’ve lifted the ban on BeIN being able to broadcast in their country. I’m surprised at how quickly things have moved on. From hearing that at lunch I’m now told that the takeover is on the brink of being finalised, being given the greenlight and being announced and that’s just remarkable.”
Shows how much they want it
The fact that the Saudis have come to a $1bn agreement to push this takeover through shows just how much they want this.
Yes, they may be rich beyond our comprehension, but at the end of the day, $1bn is a lot of money no matter who you are.
Edwards says that this is on the brink of being announced and after two years of this battle, it’s almost hard to believe that this is actually happening.
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