FT Scoreboard

The Newcastle United takeover: a far from straightforward deal

The £305m takeover of Newcastle United in a deal led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has been seen as a blessing by many of the club’s fans. But as Arash Massoudi reports, concerns over Saudi Arabia’s alleged involvement with a pirate TV network and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, plus its blockade of Qatar’s BeIN Sports, mean the takeover has hardly been straightforward.

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FT Scoreboard is the Financial Times’s vertical on the business of sport. It offers analysis of the key financial issues affecting clubs, competitions, owners, investors and media groups across the global sports industry.