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Revealed: Newcastle United's 'private' reaction to Man City financial scandal - sources
Newcastle United have made it their strategy to avoid the same alleged pitfalls that have led Man City to be charged by the Premier League for financial misconduct, sources have told Football Insider.
The Premier League announced on Monday (5 February) that they have referred 115 charges against City to an independent commission
If found to have committed the offences – which are claimed to have taken place between 2009 and 2018 – the top flight has the power to relegate City, retroactively strip them of titles, and issue an unlimited cash penalty.
City’s formal response stated that there is “irrefutable evidence” in support of their position and that they “look forward to this matter being put to rest once and for all.
Commentators have drawn comparisons between City and Newcastle due to their ownership models, which both have links to Gulf states accused of attempting to launder their reputations through sport.
City also have around 70 per cent of the Premier League’s related-party deals, commercial arrangements struck with firms connected to their Abu Dhabi-based owners.
Newcastle have recently made related-party deals a key component of their sponsorship inventory, with four of the seven deals announced since the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s takeover in some way linked to the owners.
Related-party deals themselves are not against the rules as long as they have the approval of the Premier League’s Fair Market Value committee.
But City are accused of failing to cooperate with the investigation into their commercial dealings, as well as providing inaccurate details of their accounts and remuneration of players and managers.
Richard Busby – an industry insider and CEO of BDS Sponsorship, one of Europe’s leading commercialisation agencies – will – claims that Newcastle’s strategists see the City case as a cautionary tale.
“With regards to City specifically, I don’t know a great deal besides the extensive information that is already in the public domain,” he told Football Insider.
“What I do know is that, privately, Newcastle particularly are well aware of it. I know from some of their comments that they don’t want to get into this situation.
“Newcastle are being very sensible and saying: ‘We don’t want to go down this route’.”
Financial fair play regulations dictate that Newcastle must first boost their income before they are able to unlock the near-limitless cash reserves of their Saudi owners.
They have signed a club-record £7.5m-a-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Noon.com since the takeover and, Football Insider understands, are close to agreeing a front-of-shirt deal with the SAUDIA airline.
The seismic changes to football regulation in the last 15 years have, however, led most analysts to suggest that it will take Newcastle far longer to achieve the level of sustained success that City have enjoyed in the present era.
In other news, Former Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce rejected Wigan Athletic approach.