Newcastle takeover leaves only six teams with British owners in Premier League

There are only six clubs left in the Premier League who have British majority shareholders after Mike Ashley completed the sale of Newcastle United to a Saudi-led consortium on Thursday.

The completion of the North East outfit’s takeover by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) means that the number of British-owned Premier League clubs is gradually declining.

The Magpies finally saw the £305million deal, put together by the PIF, Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers, go through on Thursday after 18 months of delays.

It brings an end to Ashley’s 14-year stint as Newcastle owner, with the SportsDirect.com billionaire cashing in four years after putting the club up for sale.

It points to a trend of clubs being bought out by foreign owners, with oil-rich figures from the Middle East increasingly becoming involved in modern football.

Manchester City were the first club to welcome owners from the Gulf as Sheikh Mansour, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, took control in 2008.

But it was arguably Chelsea who opened the doors to richest people from around the globe to go shopping for football clubs.

Which players would you like Newcastle United to sign in January after their takeover? Comment below.

The Blues were sold to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003 after their debts had spiralled to £98m under former owner Ken Bates.

Likewise, Manchester United were bought by the Glazer family for £800m two years later, securing the majority shares from JP McManus.

Liverpool have been owned by Fenway Sports Group (FSG) since 2015 following the previous regime under fellow American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

A quarter of the 20 Premier League clubs are owned by American people or companies, with 40 per cent having some form of investment in top-flight clubs.

There are only six clubs remaining who are yet to sell to foreign owners, with London quartet Brentford, Crystal Palace, Tottenham and West Ham United included on that particular list.

Brentford were in League Two and in financial trouble when Matthew Benham stepped in to offer the club a vital £700,000 loan over a decade ago.

Now in the Premier League, it is estimated Benham has invested over £100m in the club on their way to their top flight.

Palace have received significant investment from American investors Joshua Harris and Steve Blitzer, with the pair owning 18 per cent minority shares.

But the Eagles are still predominantly owned by Steve Parish, the CEO of his company Tag International.

Tottenham’s owners are more reclusive, with Joe Lewis' English National Investment Company (ENIC) group owning 85.5 per cent of the north London club, having taken control 20 years ago.

But Daniel Levy, the club’s chairman, is very much the face of day-to-day footballing operations at Spurs.

The other two clubs on the list are Brighton and Hove Albion and Norwich City.

Brighton are owned by British businessman Tony Bloom, who took control of the club in 2009 and oversaw their promotion to the top flight in 2016-17.

In East Anglia, Norwich’s major shareholders are TV chef Delia Smith and publisher Michael Wynn-Jones, as they own a controlling stake of 53 per cent in the Canaries.

The full list of Premier League clubs and their owners:

Arsenal — Stan Kroenke (USA)
Aston Villa — Nassef Sawiris and Wesley Edens (Egypt, USA)
Brentford — Matthew Benham (UK)
Brighton — Tony Bloom (UK)
Burnley — ALK Capital (USA)
Chelsea — Roman Abramovich (Russia)
Crystal Palace — Steve Parish (UK)
Everton — Farhad Moshiri (Iran)
Leeds United — Andrea Radrizzani (Italy)
Leicester City — The Srivaddhanaprabha family (Thailand)
Liverpool — John W. Henry and Tom Werner, Fenway Sports Group (USA)
Manchester City — Sheikh Mansour (UAE)
Manchester United — The Glazer family (USA)
Newcastle United — Public Investment Fund (Saudi Arabia)
Norwich City — Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones (UK)
Southampton — Gao Jisheng (China)
Tottenham — Joe Lewis, ENIC Group (UK)
Watford — Gino Pozzo (Italy)
West Ham — David Sullivan and David Gold (UK)
Wolves — Guo Guangchang, Liang Xinjun and Wang Qunbin, Fosun International (China)

Source: Read Full Article