Newcastle United fans were desperate for a new owner after years of frustration under Mike Ashley. Newcastle's plight, combined with the region's socio-economic struggles, presented a ripe opportunity for Saudi Arabia to take over. One of the world's richest and most autocratic states, renowned for human rights abuses, are now firmly implanted in English football. Here's how they managed it.
We talk to fans, experts and journalists to give you the real story why NUFC fans embraced Saudi Arabia. Tell us what you think in the comments...
Report: Janek Speight
Editing: Joe Wright
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Two words why Newcastle fans embraced Saudi owners… Mike Ashley. Widely regarded as one of the worst owners in Premier League history. Rather than club get sponsorship to increase the money in the club to get better players, he basically made all the club sponsors his own companies and for free, so Newcastle were promoting his business globally for free when they could have been getting money for sponsors and he basically used Newcastle as a business saving account where he took the profits of the club and was never really interest in making the team better or competitive with the potential to win trophies and was happy to finish 17th every year and collect the Premier League TV money. This infuriated Newcastle fans because they couldn’t accept this exploitation of their club and lack of ambition. So when the Saudis came saying they wanted to win and would spend, that was enough for them.
Something that suggests Newcastle fans would have even embraced Muammar Gaddafi or Saddam Hussein if their regime was bankrolling their club. What's ridiculous about the acceptance of this ownership model thing is that Newcastle Fans used to be very vociferous about the way Chelsea & Man City negatively influenced the game by pumping money into football, whilst now the have become the best example of 'whataboutery', a term that they hate but that perfectly reflects how disingenuous their stance is. No moral high ground, just success at all cost.
@@alexjohnson9535 and when has Newcsstle spent more money than West Ham, Aston Villa for example (leave out City, Chelsea)?😂
@@anon-zk6iz Yes, they have. Newcastle's Net net spend since Jan 2022 was £256mln, only second to Chelsea's £539mln. In comparison, West Ham's net spend was £172mln and Villa £61mln. I'm quoting official figures by the way. Next time you should check your numbers before commenting...
@@alexjohnson9535 Note, since Jan 2022.. what about the remaining 14 years? Next time, try and comprehend what comments actually say...
@@anon-zk6iz in that case your reply to my original comment has no relevance at all.
Thanks for having us!
Thank you guys for taking part!
I just have one question, why when they in video mention foreign owners don’t even mention the American owner of Manchester United or owner of Liverpool ?
Because they are racist
the glazers and fenway don’t have laws against women driving/going out by themselves or kill journalists
They might be capitalist oligarchs, but they are not quite autocratic heads of state. Saudi and UAE use these clubs for a bigger agenda: sports washing but it doesn't seem like American owners are promoting American oligarchy, and is there really much of a difference between rich American team owners & their British counterparts? What I'm saying is that they are both very bad, but not on the same level and in the same way. *And of course, there is an element of seeing bad Eastern things worse than bad Western things in general, It's defenitly easier to criticize foreigners compare to criticizing the most powerful and privleged people of your own community.
proof? People hate their countries more than ever because of the club ownership and yet they still keep supporting the club with their funds? 🤡😂@@zborhan6168
They’re not nation-states. Turn your brain on for a second mate.
Please do an episode on American owners in PL = Glazers/Liverpool/Kronke.
مجدك لقدام و امجادك ورى .. و ان حكى فيك حسادك ترى ما درينا بهرج حسادك ابد 🎵🎶
because they want success bang done saved you time, still nearly 60 years 0 trophy crazy drought
60 years = 0 problem NEVER = 0 problem 2 :) .... It breeds mentality and that you can't take away
New govt bill in UK gives fans greater say/power/authority in our clubs/PL.
To all Newcastle fans out human rights issues in Saudi is great these hypocrites have an agenda obviously
How great exactly? Tell us more about it...
What human rights?? If we want to talk about human rights west is more backward
Anyone but Mike Ashley
Tell the outsiders are clueless our owners are at every game home and away and Amanda and Mehrdad even attend the women matches
The Premier League already lost the soul, the real fan culture and the atmosphere. All they have left now is money from rich owners who treat clubs like their toys. So, congrats on becoming the world's biggest plastic league.
Its the best league in the world, haters gonna hate
why is it ? as if you know anything about other leagues in the world lol@@user-et3sr8ks2p
@@user-et3sr8ks2p You have sold your soccer soul to the Saudis. And you're looking for excuses to justify it. Your statement says it all. Created by the poor, stolen by the rich Against modern Football
Meanwhile the world buys oil and gas from ... guess who?
and sells weapons to guess who?
🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦🇸🇦😎😂 As a Saudi, I watch this report as if I were watching a bad comedy, and I laugh hard at the amount of extreme stupidity
Most of this things in the video is right you know it’s true you’re just bias
NUFC belongs to them Geordies, not the Saudis
Why not
As a Saudi, I never realized that this deal brought happiness to the people, damn it who cutting onions? 😡
I’m an Arenal fan but Newcastle seems fun Lmao 👏🏻
What is arenal 🥴
❤️🇸🇦❤️
By retaining its traditional model Bundesliga has created one giant club, 3/4 development clubs and the rest of the league which are average or anonymous clubs. Premier League on the other side by opening its league to the international investors, by equally dividing broadcasting income and branding the entire league instead of one particular club, Premier leagues has created the most competetive league in the world. It's enormous victory of the premier league.
If 50+1 rule works so well then why are legendary clubs such as Hamburg & Schalke in 2nd division? 😂 German clowns
@@spark556 German "clowns" have the best attendance and atmosphere in the world. Last weekend in the Regionalliga West, which is the fourth league it's amateur football, Alemannia Aachen played in front of 22.700 people. Dynamo Dresden average 27,805 at home in the 3rd league. If Schalke and HSV had piss poor management then so be it, but 50+1 is the best thing to happen to football, passion over money.
So u admit football is about and only about money. U seem to forget the roots of your English clubs, who founded them? Certainly no rich Arabs. And cherry on top of hypocrisy cake, the Arab investment is for profit. They take the profit and invest in proxy wars, vanity megalomaniac projects or foreign funds eg Chinese which further push their hegemony competing western economy, in layman terms make you poorer or to shady funds that financing illegal immigration, the peoples you guys hate. You're extremely ignorant fools.
@@silvianrosianu3637 And Bayern always win. Great.
@@aelfricofcedde363 You're right. Unlike City in England... Oh, wait..
So cringe. Newcastle and man city fans are spineless
Cuz u never seen newcastle and man city darkest days at all u only got attention to them when saydi bought them
Cope hater 🥴
@@njflip4984 don’t care. Have some integrity.
@@TeddyPicker191 Where was this concern when Mike Ashley was the owner? As if fans have a say who buys and sells clubs nowadays. Come off the high horse.
Saudi should buy German Legendary Clubs Like Fc Nuremberg Borussia Dortmud & Fc kaiserslaughtern for making German league system more competitive.
Europeans having a moral compass all of a sudden.. 😂 Go on you Geordies, enjoy this and can't wait to see you win the Prem
The Germans talking about human rights is hilarious...🤫😉
Well, at least here they're talking and not covering their mouth like back in Qatar 🤪😬
@@dwkickoffAl jezera cough cough
No Arab invesment Goes to german because germany was not profitable for invesment
I hope they win something this season
They are not
You really had to pin point one of the worst self-appointed representatives of the club for this video. Why not come and talk with the yemeni population of the region who still support the club or discuss the socio-economics; it's alot more nuance than just "Mike Ashley bad, investment good"
The German media attacks on KSA & UAE is still on 😂😂😂 Dear DW team please take a break, you must’ve been tired after all these years of attacks and 0 results 😢😅
Dw journalists are like kids..do you really believe what you said in this report? shame on you 😂😂😂
LoL 🤪🤔 What's the problem, Mohamed? Anything specific you'd like to say...? Happy to hear your constructive feedback
It is the reality of a falling apart UK economy. It needs money and rescue from overseas. They will approve a deal if one day West Ham United is sold to North Korea.
4:13 I love how he is casually wearing the PALESTINIAN merch.
Because money and wins buy you fans. Plenty of Newcastle fans over the years have complained about City and Chelsea being owned by people from certain regimes and when one comes calling they’re start flying the fucking flag in their stadium. Who cares about torturing and killing political opponents, gay people, women who want to have slightly more liberty when they buy you nice players!
When you afford returning humans' lives and resources you stole from India, Pakistan, Australia, Egypt Syria, Palestine...etc. Then you will be allowed to talk about "HUMAN rights".
and where has Newcastle overspent Aston Villa or West Ham let alone City or Chelsea. Grow stuff except hate.
Blah blah blah, all Newcastle fans cared about was that these owners caused them to win more. They didn't care where the money came from or any ethical considerations. If Newcastle won, nothing else mattered to them.
Well, a lot of fans want to see their team winning. That's the case too for millions of other football fans out there, isn't it?
@@dwkickoffAbsolutely ... but I feel like one of the few who actually cares so much more about how it is done. (I'd rather my team continue to do poorly than be owned by people such as these or otherwise do something that I don't view as ethical.)
@@mattm.2591 May I know which country you are from?
@@anon-zk6iz USA
@@mattm.2591 So you ain't a local.
$$$
Its just that football fans like u just hate it
Loved the Palestinian flag 🇵🇸 in this video up the TOON! HWTL
Human rights? Bunch of hypocrites. How many millions hav the German & English killed, murdered, tortured, robbed when they were goin around conquer the world. Now they wanna complain bout other country issue? Tell others how should they behave n run their own country?? Full of BS
sport washing
New kind of washing machine?
They’ve sold their souls to the devil.
I swear modern football fans aka tiktok fans r weirdos
Ahaha, just imagine a "European person" calls others devil's. Ahahah.
@@KhakhaKhakha-ds4ff The traditional “soul” of an historic football club in North England, surrendered to some wealthy, morally bankrupt nation state in the Middle East? I stand by what I said.
@EmsionProductions we haven't heard your voice when Americans owning backbone football clubs in "Middle"& "South" of England. Hypocrisy & double standards, as I always say.
@@KhakhaKhakha-ds4ff Absolute nonsense. You don’t know any of my beliefs, it’s just pathetic projection on your part. You assume that I am completely fine with wealthy American, Russian, Chinese etc. ownership in top flight football, and not Saudi?..