PIF and RB Sports & Media

[nufcjmc]

14 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

I'd say it's fair to include the purchase price in a statement like "they've spent X amount on us". I don't know where the £338m mentioned comes from, but I'd be amazed if it e.g. included sponsorship money they have brought in through related parties like Sela, Noon and Saudia. All told I'd say they (the owners combined) have invested well over half a billion in us and probably closer to 750m. By my definition that's the best part of a billion, and it's only the beginning too.

 

Are people seriously suggesting our owners haven't invested enough? Quite what were you expecting post Ashley if I may ask?

I certainly don't feel they haven't invested enough but it's such a subjective subject as could they have invested more? Yes? Will they invest more? Likely. Have they done enough well time will tell and I don't have the knowledge in the field or all of the knowledge of each of the components to sway anyone one way or another.

 

I don't need them to foot  the bill on a 1 billion stadium for instance for them to prove anything to me. However I am still not entirely sure what the intent is with us outside of an amazon doc saying win it all best in class etc.

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by nufcjmc

[Whitley mag]

Did they not pay Bein a billion pounds just before the takeover was approved to settle the piracy?

 

Still of the opinion it was approved because we had the PL by the bollocks on the competition case, but nonetheless a pretty big outlay I don’t think they’re paying if they weren’t buying us.

[McCormick]

 

They didn’t just spend a billion to buy Newcastle United. The bein thing was a geopolitical mess; being in a high-profile dispute with a major FIFA power over pirating World Cup broadcasts doesn’t exactly scream “take us seriously” on the global football stage.

[The College Dropout]

3 hours ago, Unbelievable said:

 

No you did not. If that's what you would have said not too many would have disagreed. It's blatantly obvious their 2034 World Cup bid was their main priority and set the whole football thing off for them. Then their own league is probably their second priority as it directly affects their key stakeholders. We are in the end "just" one of their many investments, albeit a high profile one even their top brass have taken a particular personal interest in.

 

What you did say to start this whole thing off though was:

  

  

  

 

Which in my opinion is just pure nonsense. There is no lack of ambition or acumen on the side of our owners and we are firmly among their top priorities in football, which is obviously also a main priority for them as a whole. To suggest otherwise is simply ignorant or disingenuous. They have spent the best part of a billion on us and in doing so have elevated us from also rans to competing for trophies and CL qualification as the norm, and this is only the start. They are preparing massive investment in our infrastructure and it's entirely plausible that if it were not for rules put in place by the PL to hinder our progression they would have invested much more on the playing side already. I just don't understand this constant nagging every time they do something that does not align 100% with the insular NUFC interest. They have many more interests to serve than only their NE1 one. I can't believe that still needs explaining over three years into their ownership.

We ain’t top 5 footballing priority.  They will buy Darwin Nunez for their 4th Saudi club for £80m, £20m on Digne with zero hesitation.  Each of those 4 Saudi clubs are a bigger priority than us. The World Cup is more important. There is 5.  If they have to do things not in the best interest of NUFC but is of interest to any of those things - they will do it. 
 

You can’t convince me that PIF can’t use more of their power and influence if they wanted too.  
 

Im not suggesting it’s not enough. What they are doing is great. But they could do more if it was a bigger priority. Multi club ownership under Newcastle is right there.  What’s stopping them? Nothing.  They just don’t want to do it. 

[TheBrownBottle]

4 minutes ago, McCormick said:

 

They didn’t just spend a billion to buy Newcastle United. The bein thing was a geopolitical mess; being in a high-profile dispute with a major FIFA power over pirating World Cup broadcasts doesn’t exactly scream “take us seriously” on the global football stage.

Agreed - a positive externality was that this allowed the club sale to go through.  But it wasn’t done to get us bought - they could have done that at any time during the previous 18 months. 

[TheBrownBottle]

18 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

Did they not pay Bein a billion pounds just before the takeover was approved to settle the piracy?

 

Still of the opinion it was approved because we had the PL by the bollocks on the competition case, but nonetheless a pretty big outlay I don’t think they’re paying if they weren’t buying us.

The club didn’t have the PL by the bollocks at all - the moment MBS is assessed under a FPPT he’d fail, and there is no way that Saudi Arabia allows that to happen.  There was no way to force the sale through. 

[TheBrownBottle]

44 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

I'd say it's fair to include the purchase price in a statement like "they've spent X amount on us". I don't know where the £338m mentioned comes from, but I'd be amazed if it e.g. included sponsorship money they have brought in through related parties like Sela, Noon and Saudia. All told I'd say they (the owners combined) have invested well over half a billion in us and probably closer to 750m. By my definition that's the best part of a billion, and it's only the beginning too.

 

Are people seriously suggesting our owners haven't invested enough? Quite what were you expecting post Ashley if I may ask?

In that case, Mike Ashley invested more than a quarter of a billion in his first year and a half at Newcastle.  What were we whinging about?

[et tu brute]

I see the doom merchants are back on the rampage 

 

[TheBrownBottle]

Just now, et tu brute said:

I see the doom merchants are back on the rampage 

 

We need the sustenance of a new signing!

[Unbelievable]

37 minutes ago, The College Dropout said:

We ain’t top 5 footballing priority.  They will buy Darwin Nunez for their 4th Saudi club for £80m, £20m on Digne with zero hesitation.  Each of those 4 Saudi clubs are a bigger priority than us. The World Cup is more important. There is 5.  If they have to do things not in the best interest of NUFC but is of interest to any of those things - they will do it. 
 

You can’t convince me that PIF can’t use more of their power and influence if they wanted too.  
 

Im not suggesting it’s not enough. What they are doing is great. But they could do more if it was a bigger priority. Multi club ownership under Newcastle is right there.  What’s stopping them? Nothing.  They just don’t want to do it. 

Counting the four Saudi clubs as a bigger priority, each no less. I’ve heard it all now

[Unbelievable]

37 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

In that case, Mike Ashley invested more than a quarter of a billion in his first year and a half at Newcastle.  What were we whinging about?

What happened in the 16 years after perhaps? I could have guessed you’d missed those the way you go on about the new owners without any awareness of what preceded them.

 

 

Edited 16 hours ago by Unbelievable

[TheBrownBottle]

3 minutes ago, Unbelievable said:

What happened in the 16 years after perhaps? I could have guessed you’d missed those the way you go on about the new owners without any awareness of what preceded them.

 

 

 

No, the point is that buying the club isn’t an investment in the club.

 

I don’t miss the Ashley years - no-one does.  Those of us who around for the McKeag years don’t miss those either, but I didn’t assess Hall or Ashley in the context of McKeag.  Newcastle United has pretty much always been owned by people who I’d rather didn’t. 

 

You think that the people who own us are wonderful - I don’t.  But I’ve no major concerns at present re the direction of the club, though I do think that the continued inertia at board level has been papered over by Howe’s management of the team. 

[Whitley mag]

6 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

The club didn’t have the PL by the bollocks at all - the moment MBS is assessed under a FPPT he’d fail, and there is no way that Saudi Arabia allows that to happen.  There was no way to force the sale through. 

Course they did the disclosure the PL would have been forced into was unprecedented.

 

This was worse than the Man City case for them, it was from a third party Mash Holdings and would have been played out in public, exposing them and the clubs pulling their strings blocking the takeover.

 

 

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by Whitley mag

[TRon]

15 hours ago, The College Dropout said:

PSG are uniquely positioned to be a global force in the way we aren’t. The city and the local talent pool is insane. 

 

But that sort of reinforces my original point that PSG were one of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe in the doldrums but being the club of the biggest city in France they always had the potential to be big hitters. They were sleeping giants and Qatar recognised that. 

[The College Dropout]

3 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

But that sort of reinforces my original point that PSG were one of the biggest clubs in the world. Maybe in the doldrums but being the club of the biggest city in France they always had the potential to be big hitters. They were sleeping giants and Qatar recognised that. 

No they weren't man. You need to let that one go.

 

Man U are a sleeping giant. Liverpool were a sleeping giant. PSG ascension is only possible with the crazy investment they have received - that's not a sleeping giant. You were wrong on that point man.

[TRon]

1 minute ago, The College Dropout said:

No they weren't man. You need to let that one go.

 

Man U are a sleeping giant. Liverpool were a sleeping giant. PSG ascension is only possible with the crazy investment they have received - that's not a sleeping giant. You were wrong on that point man.

 

You are arguing over semantics. Let me correct my poor wording then.

 

PSG were NOT one of the biggest clubs in the world, but they always had the POTENTIAL to be that as they were based in Paris...which is definitely one of the most famous cities of the world. Hence why they got bought by the Qataris. 

 

 

[TheBrownBottle]

3 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

You are arguing over semantics. Let me correct my poor wording then.

 

PSG were NOT one of the biggest clubs in the world, but they always had the POTENTIAL to be that as they were based in Paris...which is definitely one of the most famous cities of the world. Hence why they got bought by the Qataris. 

 

 

I’m not convinced this is the case either - Paris isn’t a footballing city at all, and the potential was never there.  The fact that it has one club of note - and that club never had close to the biggest crowds in France - says everything.  The potential was never there - without the Qatari investment they’d still be bobbling around upper mid table in Ligue 1.  

[Stifler]

2 minutes ago, TRon said:

You are arguing over semantics. Let me correct my poor wording then.

 

PSG were NOT one of the biggest clubs in the world, but they always had the POTENTIAL to be that as they were based in Paris...which is definitely one of the most famous cities of the world. Hence why they got bought by the Qataris.

They got bought by the Qatari’s for soft power reasons. Qatar had been in bed with France for a while in order to gain soft power. They invested in France, Paris, and other cities, much like the Russians and UAE did in London.

The French president at the time was a PSG fan, he convinced them to buy PSG. Rumour is that ideally they didn’t want a French club, there is simply no money in it, it is a farmers league, they even overpay for the TV rights through BeIN. They have been constantly rumoured to be interested in buying Leeds, and rumoured to drop PSG for teams like Liverpool etc in the past.

They never saw anything in PSG, they have perhaps hit the jackpot in marketing it well though, and eventually won the Champions League which they really should have done before now considering the investment they have had.

[Novocastrian]

PSG were only formed in 1971 (or thereabouts) they are only marginally older than the East Stand.

[TheBrownBottle]

5 hours ago, Whitley mag said:

Course they did the disclosure the PL would have been forced into was unprecedented.

 

This was worse than the Man City case for them, it was from a third party Mash Holdings and would have been played out in public, exposing them and the clubs pulling their strings blocking the takeover.

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone knew they were blocking it - was exposure was there to be had?  So what if they were?  They asked for the ownership to go through the PL’s FPPT like any other potential owner.  There isn’t a conspiracy when it was well known what was happening.  Members of the PL are allowed to raise their concerns to the PL board. 

[Whitley mag]

4 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Everyone knew they were blocking it - was exposure was there to be had?  So what if they were?  They asked for the ownership to go through the PL’s FPPT like any other potential owner.  There isn’t a conspiracy when it was well known what was happening.  Members of the PL are allowed to raise their concerns to the PL board. 

It’s anti competitive and cartel behaviour hence the case being brought by legal experts.

[TheBrownBottle]

1 minute ago, Whitley mag said:

It’s anti competitive and cartel behaviour hence the case being brought by legal experts.

It isn’t anticompetitive to have FPPT for membership - PIF refused to go through it.  The PL’s objections were dropped literally one day after KSA paid the fine and allowed BeIN back into the country.

[TRon]

17 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

I’m not convinced this is the case either - Paris isn’t a footballing city at all, and the potential was never there.  The fact that it has one club of note - and that club never had close to the biggest crowds in France - says everything.  The potential was never there - without the Qatari investment they’d still be bobbling around upper mid table in Ligue 1.  

 

What are their crowds like now? Are they still playing in front of low turnouts? I only ask because I seem to remember they have a very vocal presence at St James during the CL fixture, and their home game looked pretty well supported. 

 

 

[TRon]

19 minutes ago, Stifler said:

They got bought by the Qatari’s for soft power reasons. Qatar had been in bed with France for a while in order to gain soft power. They invested in France, Paris, and other cities, much like the Russians and UAE did in London.

The French president at the time was a PSG fan, he convinced them to buy PSG. Rumour is that ideally they didn’t want a French club, there is simply no money in it, it is a farmers league, they even overpay for the TV rights through BeIN. They have been constantly rumoured to be interested in buying Leeds, and rumoured to drop PSG for teams like Liverpool etc in the past.

They never saw anything in PSG, they have perhaps hit the jackpot in marketing it well though, and eventually won the Champions League which they really should have done before now considering the investment they have had.

 

Paris being Paris is always going to attract eyes, same way as London. I accept that the French League wasn't much of a competiton, but that's not what I'm saying. My point is that PSG being based in Paris always had the potential to be one of the biggest teams in the world. I mean, that's how it has played out right?

 

 

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Just now, TRon said:

 

Paris being Paris is always going to attract eyes, same way as London. I accept that the French League wasn't much of a competiton, but that's not what I'm saying. My point is that PSG being based in Paris always had the potential to be one of the biggest teams in the world. I mean, that's how it has played out right?

 

 

Yes and no, I don’t think Paris has that much potential except when artificially boosted by Qatari money. 
 

TBH I still think of them as a weird Frankenstein club in some ways, a relatively average club in an average league but with loads of money making them big.