Newcastle announced a multi-year shirt sponsorship deal with Saudi events company Sela on Friday, in an early test of new Premier League rules on owner-related commercial deals.
Sela is
backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), the state’s sovereign wealth
fund, which also holds an 80 percent stake in Newcastle.
A temporary
ban on owner-related sponsorship deals was put in place after the Saudi-led
takeover of the Magpies in October 2021.
That was
lifted two months later but such deals must be deemed to represent fair market
value.
Abu
Dhabi-owned Manchester City’s rise to the top of English football has been
aided by sponsorship deals with a series of related parties in the Gulf.
City are
facing 115 Premier League charges for allegedly breaching financial rules
between 2009 and 2018.
Owners of
other Premier League clubs voiced concerns that Newcastle could circumvent
financial fair play rules by using Saudi-backed sponsors.
Newcastle
CEO Darren Eales said the partnership followed “a highly competitive commercial
process”.
“We believe
we have found the perfect front of shirt partner to support us in reaching our
objectives on and off the pitch,” he said.
According to
reports, the new deal is worth £25 million ($31 million) per season, around
four times the value of the club’s previous deal with Chinese gambling firm
FUN888.
Newcastle
will be back in the Champions League next season for the first time in 20 years
after finishing fourth in the Premier League in their first full season under
their new ownership group.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete