Newcastle United Football Club are up for sale. Club owner Mike Ashley purchased the club in 2007 for £134.4 million and is expected to make a sizeable profit on his investment. Ashley’s tenure has been a poor one, seeing the club relegated twice. Supporters often protest his lack of investment in the club. But given the situation the club is currently in, he should have no trouble finding a willing buyer. In the search for one, Amanda Stavely, a financier who set up the deal for Sheikh Mansour to take over Manchester City, was seen at St. James Park last month.
Newcastle United Football Club For Sale
The club released a statement Monday evening, in which the club confirmed the recent press speculation.
“As one of the Premier League’s oldest and best supported football clubs – and for the benefit of its many fans and supporters in the UK and across the world – Newcastle United requires a clear direction and a path to a bright and successful future.
To give the club the best possible opportunity of securing the positioning and investment necessary to take it to the next level, at what is an important time in its history, its present ownership has determined that it is in the best interests of Newcastle United and its fans for the club to be put up for sale.”
Potential Suitors
Amanda Stavely is the most public suitor so far. Having engineered the purchase of Manchester City for Sheikh Mansour, it is unclear whether it would be a personal purchase, or another representation for a larger buyer. However, Newcastle are a club that are ripe to be bought. A passionate fanbase, a terrific stadium (that the club own), a modern training ground (that the club own), Newcastle are a great project that has fallen into disrepair. But with adequate investment, the days of Alan Shearer and title challenges may return to the Toon.
Main Photo: NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – MAY 07: Newcastle United players Jamaal Lascelles (l) and Jonjo Shelvey lift the trophy after winning the Sky Bet Championship title after the match between Newcastle United and Barnsley at St James’ Park on May 7, 2017 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
