Amanda Staveley first entered St James‘ Park and it took her half an hour to fall in love with the club. Four years later, she orchestrated a PS305m takeover by a Saudi-led consortium.
The Premier League gave their approval for the sale after receiving “legally binding assurances” that Saudi Arabia would not control Newcastle United football club. But Amnesty International has now requested that they reexamine these assurances.
Amanda Staveley
Amanda Staveley is a British businesswoman with extensive connections to Middle Eastern investors. Additionally, she holds joint ownership of Newcastle United – one of England’s premier football teams.
She has a significant stake in Newcastle United and helped a Saudi consortium purchase it in October 2021. As an influential figure within both media and politics, she has been at the centre of attention during Newcastle’s turbulent past.
Her net worth is estimated to be $170 million. Born in Ripon, England and now residing in Dubai, she earned a fortune through investments.
In 2013, the former restaurant operator who has a husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, and son Alexander was diagnosed with Huntington’s disease.
She has achieved multi-millionaire status through her connections in the Gulf region. Her extensive network of contacts is an untapped resource for business opportunities.
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PIF
Staveley has assured Newcastle co-owners that their wealthy Saudi investors have no desire to purchase another Premier League club. She revealed that PIF, who acquired Newcastle from Mike Ashley for PS305m in October 2021, have invested more than PS200m of their own funds since then.
Staveley told FT Sport the PIF consortium have done an outstanding job at building the club and are happy to stay for the long run. To that end, they have invested funds into the side ahead of the transfer window, spending PS96m on new players in January alone.
The Saudi-led group are making a name for themselves in English football after almost being relegated four years ago when they took over from Mike Ashley. Since then, they’ve climbed to fifth place in the table and are set to face Manchester United at Wembley next week.
Amnesty International has called on the Premier League to review its assurances that the PIF consortium were independent from Saudi government when it approved their takeover. Court documents in the US describe PIF as a “sovereign instrument” of the kingdom and Toon chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan as “a sitting minister of the government” with exclusive access to foreign golf tournaments.
Man Utd
Newcastle co-owner Amanda Staveley has denied PIF interests in Manchester United and Liverpool, despite reports of wealthy Qatari and Saudi investors interested in purchasing the Premier League giants. Furthermore, she reiterated that their club was not looking to sell – though she acknowledged the club’s ownership structure could change in the future.
Last year, the Glazer family sold Manchester United to a controversial investment model that angered some supporters. Nonetheless, it appears unlikely that they will reevaluate selling Old Trafford club in the near future.
As a result, Manchester United are once again in the spotlight with several potential bidders potentially interested in buying before Friday’s deadline. Reports have linked wealthy investors from Qatar and Saudi Arabia with buying United, while Jim Ratcliffe – Britain’s richest man – has declared his intention to purchase the team.
If the serious human rights allegations against these Middle Eastern countries do not cause you such distress that you would rather ignore them than see their investment opportunities, there is a good chance you will support a Newcastle-Man Utd merger.
Liverpool
Amanda Staveley, co-owner of Newcastle United and PIF (Portuguese Investment Fund), has denied reports that they are interested in taking over Liverpool or Manchester United. Despite having money from Saudi Arabia, Staveley insists they do not plan to purchase any other Premier League clubs outright.
However, this hasn’t stopped them from exploring ways to expand their ownership model in the future. They are considering exploring multi-club ownership structures.
No matter how difficult it has been for Newcastle United this millennium to win a trophy, they still manage to draw in an impressive following due to their ability to spend money in the transfer market and boasting an excellent stadium.
Now they have serious money behind them, they can compete with any team in the world. If they manage to get their finances in order, they could potentially become one of the top clubs globally within a few years.
Source: اهم مباريات اليوم
