Newcastle United owners PIF now targeting controversial Qatar deal after £750m twist

Since the takeover in October 2021, Newcastle United have generally kept their heads down when it comes to big events in the the Premier League governance ecosystem.

They have voted with the Premier League on several occasions when they were expected not to on matters of financial regulations, for example.

However, there are signs that they are now beginning to take a different approach.

For one, they gave evidence in favour of Man City in their challenge against the Premier League’s associated party transaction (APT) rules.

In isolation, that is not surprising. After all, the APT rules were introduced as a direct response to PIF’s takeover of Newcastle so as to stop them from signing inflated sponsorship deals as a PSR workaround.

In nearly every other industry in which they have spent their petrodollars, the Saudi Public Investment Fund have been a disruptive force.

Looking more broadly at football outside the Premier League, Saudi Arabia will host the World Cup in 2034 and have invested billions into their own domestic league.

And now it looks as though, despite being anchored by Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) at St James’ Park, PIF are set to flex their financial muscles in a different way that affects the Premier League.

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PIF to launch Qatari takeover?

Earlier this month, PIF were reliably linked with a 10 per cent investment in the London-based media company DAZN, which would have been worth £760m.

However, they have since issued a statement distancing themselves from that story.

Again, in isolation, that was no surprise.

DAZN are a Premier League broadcaster and receiving funding from Newcastle’s owners would surely have raised concerns of potential conflicts of interests.

But the real motivation behind PIF’s statement may now have become clear.

Yesterday, The Telegraph reported that PIF are now in preliminary talks to take over the Qatari state-funded broadcaster BeIN Sports.

Like DAZN, BeIn are a Premier League media partner, paying hundreds of millions every season for the privilege.

It would be a remarkable change in geopolitical narratives.

A long running feud between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and BeIn was one of the reasons that the takeover of Newcastle in 2021 took so long to get the Premier League’s approval.

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PIF and BeIN: A conflict of interest?

It can be guaranteed that a takeover of BeIN would attract suspicion from the fans, and perhaps owners, of rival Premier League clubs.

But given the conspiratorial atmosphere that is enveloping the Premier League at present, with talk of red and blue cartels, that is no surprise.

In truth, the lines between the club and media ownership have been blurred before.

Man United were once part-owned by Sky, while Aston Villa’s Atairos, who own more than 30 per cent of the club, currently have a significant stake in the same media company.

However, outright ownership of BeIN would be on a different level and would likely attract regulatory attention.

It could theoretically represent the next big controversy in the behind-the-scenes Premier League psychodrama.