To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Newcastle Owners Were Interested In Buying One Of Three Clubs Ahead Of Takeover, One League Was Branded A 'Mess'

Newcastle Owners Were Interested In Buying One Of Three Clubs Ahead Of Takeover, One League Was Branded A 'Mess'

Amanda Staveley has claimed that one club was "looked at briefly" by the PIF, while the Newcastle owners "talked" to two other teams.

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz

Amanda Staveley has revealed that the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were interested in buying one of three European clubs ahead of the successful Newcastle takeover bid.

The 48-year-old, who is a co-owner of Newcastle, helped broker the PIF-led £300m takeover of the Premier League club in October from Mike Ashley.

The Saudi Arabia-backed takeover has the PIF with the lion’s share of the controlling stake at 80 per cent, with RB Sports & Media and PCP Capital Partners owning 10 per cent each.

Staveley has now claimed that the PIF, which is chaired by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “talked” with Inter Milan and AC Milan ahead of the Newcastle takeover.

According to The Daily Telegraph, the PCP Capital Partners chief executive also revealed that Ligue 1 club Bordeaux were “looked at briefly.”

Read More:

PA

Staveley said: “We talked to Inter Milan, AC [Milan], but the problem was the structure of the league was a mess.

“We looked briefly at Bordeaux. But we’re not looking at Inter [any more].”

Newcastle owners are making sweeping changes at the club following the end of Ashley’s controversial 14-year reign.

Steve Bruce was sacked as Newcastle manager last month after the Magpies’ 3-2 defeat to Tottenham at St James's Park.

Former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe was announced as Bruce’s successor at Newcastle on Tuesday, with the club sitting 19th in the Premier League table.

PA

Staveley has confirmed that Newcastle will push ahead with scrubbing away the remaining Sports Direct branding from St James's Park.

Read More:

Speaking after a meeting with league shareholders on Thursday, she said: “This moratorium was so difficult for us.

“We’ve really taken a big battering. And so I’m hoping that we’ll get this lifted as quickly as possible.

“And then the [Sports] Direct signage will come off. With Sports Direct, I’m looking forward to it coming down. It’s hard because Mike was very fair, he did a good deal. He was fair to me, I was a pain in the a**e to him for years.”

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Newcastle United, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Bordeaux, England, Premier League, Serie A, Italy, Ligue 1, France, Football

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

X

@AdnanRiaz9