PIF and RB Sports & Media

[Optimistic Nut]

They're quoting Martin Samuel.

 

Oh, Norway. 

[Dr.Spaceman]

6 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Safari won’t translate it, so can’t read it, but they mention Liverpool a bit, so am I right in guessing they are pissed that we won’t drive Isak to Liverpool and give them £150 for the privilege of having him for the last 3 years?

 

Tl;dr

 

 

And he's not wrong, but whatever, we've just got to get on with it.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2025 by Dr.Spaceman

[lovejoy]

14 minutes ago, maze said:

worlds richest and gullible club. 
Reached Norwegian newspapers. Good job, PIF, good job. 
 

Norwegian press rarely covers NUFC. So this is quite an «achievement». 
 

https://www.vg.no/sport/i/GydjBm/newcastle-united-mener-det-er-et-stort-problem-at-saudi-arabia-hjelper-andre-klubber

oh no, not Norway!

[David Edgar]

Just now, lovejoy said:

oh no, not Norway!

 

But Norway is a country in Europe!

[Bunk Moreland]

That Samuel piece was largely sympathetic to us anyway, wasn't it? 

 

Nice to see the state of Norwegian journalism is about as bad as British journalism - fashioning an article out of quotes from another writer in a different paper 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2025 by Bunk Moreland

[matta]

1 minute ago, Bunk Moreland said:

That Samuel piece was largely sympathetic to us anyway, wasn't it? 

 

Nice to see the state of Norwegian journalism is about as bad as British journalism - fashioning an article out of quotes from another writer in a different paper 

 

 

 

It's even worse. Just some AI-bots recycling old stories from overseas.

[maze]

24 minutes ago, Stifler said:

Safari won’t translate it, so can’t read it, but they mention Liverpool a bit, so am I right in guessing they are pissed that we won’t drive Isak to Liverpool and give them £150 for the privilege of having him for the last 3 years?

 
Used ChatGPT to translate. 

 

Five-Point Summary

 

 

- Ownership concern – Times commentator Martin Samuel claims Newcastle fans may doubt if their Saudi owners (PIF) truly prioritize the club, as PIF actions seem to help rival teams.

- Aid to competitors – PIF invested heavily in FIFA’s Club World Cup, indirectly giving large sums to Manchester City, Chelsea, and other clubs.

-Transfer disruption – Chelsea and Liverpool benefited from PIF-backed deals, acquiring players Newcastle targeted (e.g., Liam Delap, João Pedro, Hugo Ekitike), while Liverpool bid NOK 1.36 billion for Alexander Isak.

- Impact on season preparations – Liverpool’s moves derailed Newcastle’s transfer strategy, unsettled Isak, and disrupted their pre-season before the opener against Aston Villa.

- Perception shift – Samuel says Newcastle risk looking like “the world’s richest patsy,” with PIF making things easy for everyone else but unusually hard for Newcastle.

 

 

Full English Translation

 

 

Headline:

“Liverpool Have Ruined Newcastle This Summer” – The Times Commentator Martin Samuel Says It’s a Big Problem That Newcastle’s Saudi Owners Are Helping Other Clubs

 

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) took over about 85% of Newcastle in autumn 2021.

The spending of NOK 5.14 billion on signings has brought stars like Bruno Guimarães, Kieran Trippier, Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Elanga. It has also delivered Champions League football and a Carabao Cup win last season.

 

But after this summer, Martin Samuel, a commentator in The Times, believes fans will grow increasingly worried about whether the Saudi owners really care about Newcastle at all.

 

“It must feel very frustrating for Eddie Howe to deal with raids and speed bumps to Newcastle’s ambitions—enabled by the very people who are supposed to have the club’s best interests at heart,” Samuel writes.

 

The commentator highlights several examples where Saudi Arabia appears to assist other clubs:

 

PIF invested heavily in FIFA’s Club World Cup, providing large sums to Manchester City, Chelsea, and foreign clubs.

Chelsea sold João Félix to PIF-backed Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, while also buying Liam Delap and João Pedro—both potential Newcastle signings.

PIF-backed Al-Hilal spent around NOK 650 million on Liverpool’s Darwin Núñez. Meanwhile, Liverpool are reportedly chasing Newcastle star Alexander Isak. According to Sky Sports, Newcastle last week rejected a bid of about NOK 1.36 billion. Liverpool have also signed Hugo Ekitike, whom Newcastle had targeted, Samuel claims.

 

 

“Liverpool have ruined Newcastle this summer. It doesn’t matter if they get Isak. They’ve wrecked Newcastle’s transfer plans involving Hugo Ekitike and disrupted their preparations by unsettling Isak—who is unlikely to play in the season opener against Aston Villa,” Samuel writes.

 

Isak has been training alone in Spain recently and has missed Newcastle’s pre-season build-up.

 

“For decades, Newcastle have produced some of the country’s greatest players—Chris Waddle, Paul Gascoigne, Peter Beardsley—only to see them play their best football elsewhere. That humiliation was supposed to end when they became the world’s richest club. But increasingly this summer, they have instead looked like the world’s richest patsy. Why does PIF make it so easy for everyone else, but incredibly difficult for Newcastle?” Samuel asks.

 

Manager Eddie Howe denied that Newcastle blocked a move for Isak to Liverpool:

 

“Unfortunately, I can’t include him in the squad right now. We would have liked to see a way back for him, but ultimately it depends on Alexander. For us, he is still our player,” Howe said over the weekend.

 

Newcastle open their league campaign away to Aston Villa on Saturday, 16 August at 1:30 p.m. The following round, Liverpool visit St James’ Park—then it will be clear who owns Isak by then.

[Whitley mag]

Liverpool have a huge following in Norway the writer is probably a plastic scouser.

[Ben]

I know the Saudis expect us to wipe our own arse and be self sufficient, however since Staveley left has anyone actually asked them for more investment? Eales doesn't seem the type to push the boat out and Mitchell did nowt really. 

 

[Zero]

I don’t think Samuel’s article is far from truth, I.e. nearly everyone here question PIFs priority and why they basically funded all our rivals and strengthen their PSR positions, while they did close to nothing for us to challenge the rules. 
 

never mind the training ground stuff. That’s fucking embarrassing. Man Utd got a new one already.

 

normally Samuel’s bullshiting but this time I agree with him 

[The Prophet]

2 minutes ago, Ben said:

I know the Saudis expect us to wipe our own arse and be self sufficient, however since Staveley left has anyone actually asked them for more investment? Eales doesn't seem the type to push the boat out and Mitchell did nowt really. 

 

 

They've been investing heavily. The costs of executive appointments, training ground upgrades, the SJP refurb, along with expanding departments such as operations, finance, commercial, data, scouting, academy, coaching, medical the women's team, community outreach, etc doesn't pay for itself.

[JT24]

Club just spent money to upgrade Cochrane Park for the women’s sides too. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2025 by JT24

[The Prophet]

I don't think people realise how far behind Ashley left us and the amount its taken to fast track the upgrades. We're still playing catch up in operating like a Premier League club.

 

 

Edited August 10, 2025 by The Prophet

[r0cafella]

2 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I don't think people realise how far behind Ashley left us and the amount its taken to fast track the upgrades. We're still playing catch up in operating like a Premier League club.

 

 

 

I think most people do realise tbh, I think we've set our self massive goals in public and people are holding them to account for them. 

[El Prontonise]

5 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

I think most people do realise tbh, I think we've set our self massive goals in public and people are holding them to account for them. 

 

Some stuff is understandable that will take time but there's a lot of stuff they've shot themselves in the foot massively.

[TRon]

16 hours ago, Stifler said:

If Howe for 1 minute thought that the owners were not bothered anymore, then he would have walked.

 

 

Pretty sure he came out and said they were fully committed just last week when he was asked the question. 

[maze]

1 hour ago, Whitley mag said:

Liverpool have a huge following in Norway the writer is probably a plastic scouser.

Yes. They mostly (99%) cover the so-called «Big six». The Norwegian football coverage of EPL is quite bad and boring (zZzZz). Hate it. 

[The Prophet]

36 minutes ago, r0cafella said:

I think most people do realise tbh, I think we've set our self massive goals in public and people are holding them to account for them. 

 

Fully agree, but the "they've spent nothing since Staveley left" line has been trotted out a few times this summer when it's quite the opposite. 

 

That's not to say they've come anywhere near their stated targets yet though.

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

Must have missed the SJP refurb, was there for both friendly matches and the concourses are still absolutely shocking.

 

[Sima]

Find it baffling that there hasn't been a screen put up on the glass wall that faces Gallowgate on L7.  Little things like this would cost comparative peanuts.

[maze]

I disagree with those justifying/defending PIF, but I understand the sentiment. 
They have done quite poorly since Stavely left.
 

If they REALLY wanted they could have fixed the DoF and CEO way before it got known in public. They have not run the club very well, and so that article I posted does raise som valid concerns. 
 

I don’t «buy» any of the fluffy puffy ambitions statements. It’s all about the World Cup and politics. Actions speakes louder than words. 

 

 

[Nucasol]

Hopefully the more visibility that it gets, the more pressure there will be to act.

[The Prophet]

5 minutes ago, maze said:

I disagree with those justifying/defending PIF, but I understand the sentiment. 
They have done quite poorly since Stavely left.
 

If they REALLY wanted they could have fixed the DoF and CEO way before it got known in public. They have not run the club very well, and so that article I posted does raise som valid concerns. 
 

I don’t «buy» any of the fluffy puffy ambitions statements. It’s all about the World Cup and politics. Actions speakes louder than words. 

 

 

 

Fwiw, I'm not justifying or defending PIF, just disputing the notion they haven't been spending.

[Stifler]

1 minute ago, Zero said:

I don’t think Samuel’s article is far from truth, I.e. nearly everyone here question PIFs priority and why they basically funded all our rivals and strengthen their PSR positions, while they did close to nothing for us to challenge the rules. 
 

never mind the training ground stuff. That’s fucking embarrassing. Man Utd got a new one already.

 

normally Samuel’s bullshiting but this time I agree with him 

Man Utd don’t have a new training ground. They have redecorated elements of their current training ground. The focus of their video and pictures is on a staircase which looks like light laminate wood from an old peoples home furniture set, a canopy in the car park that looks like an airport express pick up point, and an MDF lattice ceiling from a 1970’s shopping centre.

There is a lack of images of the actual gyms and facilities, and what you do see isn’t anything that anyone else doesn’t have.

 

Spurs, Leicester, and probably even Bournemouths new training centres are all better. 

[Stifler]

34 minutes ago, TRon said:

Pretty sure he came out and said they were fully committed just last week when he was asked the question. 

Which is my point. If Howe felt that they wee not bothered anymore, he would walk. Let’s face it, if a top 6 club has a bad season this season, Howe will be near the top of their list for a new manager. He could go anywhere now really.