According to various reports, Newcastle co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi are set to sell their stake in the club to majority stakeholders The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF).
The news has caused a ripple in the fanbase, with many anticipating a shift in the tectonic plates which would see PIF, not without its controversy, take a more hands on approach to the running of the football club. The timing and indeed reasoning for the sale are yet to be disclosed, but the club is expected to make a statement imminently.
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The Staveley-Newcastle relationship begins
1st October, 2017. The beginning of a love story. This was the day Amanda Staveley, along with her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, were introduced to a sold-out Newcastle United crowd as Liverpool visited St. James' Park for a Premier League game.
While the game itself was relatively insignificant, the proceeding seven years would see Staveley involved at the heart of a protracted two-year-long takeover, eventually ratified by the Premier League on 7th October, 2021.
Since the arrival of a consortium consisting of PIF, The Reuben Brothers, and Amanda Staveley (PCP), Champions League nights have returned to St. James', and Wembley fever has pulled at the hearts of a Geordie nation desperate for success.
The close relationship between Staveley and the Geordies is unique, and it was her unrelenting desire to awaken arguably the final sleeping giant in English football which endeared her to the fans seven years ago.
The direct impact she has had on not only the men’s team, but also the women’s team, is highlighted by a second successive promotion last season which has catapulted the women from a part-time outfit in the fourth tier in 22/23, to the WSL 2 (Women's Championship) for the upcoming season.
A club with proud traditions, Newcastle were but a shadow of its former self for 14 years under the stewardship of Mike Ashley, existing merely to exist until Staveley recognised its huge potential. Her exit will have a major impact on fans, not too dissimilar to the way losing a star player such as Bruno Guimaraes, or Alexander Isak last month for PSR reasons would have done. This is massive. This is monumental.
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What does it mean at the top?
If PIF buy out the 6% share PCP currently holds, would club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan be more present in the day-to-day running of the football club? Taking a hands-on approach to running any football club is an all-encompassing job, but particularly so for a club with such lofty ambitions as Newcastle, and with the ever-increasing investment in the Saudi Pro-League, and the rise in LIV Golf, it would be a stretch to suggest he would take over the role left by Staveley and Ghodoussi.
Paul Mitchell has recently been announced as the new Sporting Director, following a compensation agreement with Man United to release Dan Ashworth from the role. Darren Eales will continue in his role as CEO, and Peter Silverstone will remain in charge of commercial operations. The club has also announced the appointment of James Bunce, formerly of Monaco alongside Mitchell, as performance director.
We are told the plan was for Staveley and co. to step aside from the football club once the building blocks were in place for a successful and sustainable future, and with highly experienced and incredibly talented experts running the club on a day-to-day basis, could it be that this is the right moment to stand aside?
Whatever the reasons, Staveley and her husband Ghodoussi have provided Newcastle fans with three incredible years. From building a team which boasts regular Brazil, England and Italy internationals, to securing the rights to a lucrative Adidas kit deal, the pair have ensured this working-class city has a hero to worship once again.
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi will always have a seat at St. James Park, a club born again from the ashes of its past, ignited by the spark of a businesswoman from Yorkshire who fell in love with a proud footballing city.
From Alan Shearer and Bobby Robson to Bruno and Howe, she has delivered a new golden generation which Newcastle hope and believe can be as brilliantly entertaining as the last.
