Newcastle United have admitted that they could need to sell one of their stars players this year in order to make sure they abide by Financial Fair Play.
The North East giants confirmed a loss of £73million for 2023 due to spending of over £150m on new players, but the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (SPR) mean that they might need to raise funds.
Chief executive Darren Eales spoke to the press after the results were outlined, and asked if the situation means ‘any’ player has a price, he candidly admitted: “Correct.”
The news that Newcastle could be forced to sell players will come as a shock to many, given they are 80% owned by Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia, making them the richest club in the Premier League.
But SSR regulations mean that Newcastle could be forced to balance their books, and asked if star turns Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman or Alexander Isak could be sold, he continued: “It’s difficult to hypothesise but, if we’re offered £1billion for one of those players, then no-one could argue against that making sense.
“If we’re going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players. It is counter-intuitive and part of the inherent system of PSR that there is an incentive to trade your players, if you want to re-invest.”
Big sales could happen
Eales gave examples of when Aston Villa sold Jack Grealish, Liverpool sold Philippe Coutinho and most recently when West Ham cashed in on Declan Rice.
“For example, you have a £50m player you can sell and you bring in another player of the same value. You might say, what’s the point in doing that? But, under FFP, if you sell a £50m player and bring in an identical one at £50m on the same wages, but amortise over five years the player you are bringing in, that’s only £10m a year, so you are creating £40m of headroom. That’s the reality of the FFP model.
“We have seen lots of examples. Coutinho at Liverpool and they brought in Alisson and Virgil van Dijk. Grealish going from Aston Villa and they have reinvested. Declan Rice at West Ham. It’s just the nature of the beast. You have to keep growing that headroom by increasing commercial revenue and player trading.
“We want to be a top six sustainable club and Tottenham’s latest accounts was £440m (revenue). We are at £250m, so there is a big step even to the lower end of the top six. We have also seen that Manchester City are £710m. There is a long way to go.”
Eales was also asked about the future of sporting director Dan Ashworth – who is wanted by Manchester Untied – and he refused to rule it out.
“Dan’s done a great job, there’s a lot more work to be done and we’re hopeful he’s here for the long term,” he said. “He’s certainly enjoying his time at the moment.”
No Saudi loans
Speaking of January, Eales was asked about the prospect of Newcastle bringing in players from their sister clubs in Saudi Arabia – but he downplayed the prospect.
“There is no intention, as things stand, to do any loans from the PIF clubs in Saudi Arabia,’ he said.
On making signings this month, he said: “It’s a difficult window to get value when you’re in the middle of the season and you are trying to bring quality in. Summer is always better from a value and planning perspective.
“Secondly, we have had a number of injuries and we have got some very good players coming back in the second half of the season. We have to approach it on the medium to long term basis rather than knee-jerk reactions. We always have to be mindful of the PSR stuff and making sure we are always going to be compliant long term.”
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