Bought by Saudi investors in October 2021, the club from north-east England will return to the Champions League, 21 years after its last participation.
Despite the famous saying, in the North East of England, money made Magpies happy. On the occasion of the 38th and last day of the Premier League, Newcastle goes to Chelsea on Sunday, May 28, with a light heart, already assured of returning to the Champions League next season, a first for 21 years. Bought by the Saudi Public Investment Fund in October 2021, at the height of its crisis (19th in the championship with three points on the 7th day), the club in the north-east of England has been transformed, after 14 years of galleys, under the direction of the British businessman, Mike Ashley.
Oscillating between the Premier League and the Championship for more than a decade, the Magpies were far from playing the title as they did in the mid-1990s, or at the very beginning of the 2000s, in the wake of Alan Shearer, the top scorer in Premier League history (260 goals). For Sean McCormick, journalist at Sunday Suna regional weekly in the North East of England, “Newcastle felt like a sleeping giant, with untapped potential. The fans were desperate for a fresh start and an opportunity to fall in love with their club all over again.” The Saudi investors came at just the right time.
A recruitment policy in the antithesis of PSG
On the brink of relegation, Newcastle had to distinguish themselves from other new rich like Paris Saint-Germain. To comply with the rules of financial fair play, the Magpies did not set their sights on big names in world football, especially since the sporting situation of the club seemed hardly attractive. “This recruitment policy is a policy guided by common sense: rather than being flashy, we are doing it efficiently, with valuable players and a certain team coherence”, analysis Jean-Pascal Gayant, sports economist.
From their first transfer window, in the winter of 2022, the Saudi leaders struck a blow: Kieran Trippier, Euro 2020 finalist with England and Spanish champion withAtlético Madrid in 2021, presents itself in the county of Tyne and Wear as the figurehead of the Magpies’ new project. “His leadership and mentality completely transformed the club.”asserts Sean McCormick.
Appointed at the head of the team as soon as the new owners came, the English coach Eddie Howe managed to build a workforce cut out for the Premier League, committing few errors during his first three transfer windows. The Magpies have signed up-and-coming players like Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes or Sven Botman, surrounding them with experienced players, familiar with the English championship, such as Dan Burn, Nick Pope or Callum Wilson.
“Newcastle chose the side of cohesion and homogeneity, rather than the PSG star-system project.compares Jean-Pascal Gayant. “It’s a long-term bet: when the sporting result is there, you end up having notoriety, the attraction of new supporters and therefore more commercial income.”
The Champions League, a door to new horizons?
For the first time since the 2002-2003 season, the anthem of the Champions League will resound in the bays of St James’ Park. A melody that could tickle the ears of some prestigious players. To the point of changing the recipe that made Newcastle successful this season? “We are not going to go to many people [au niveau du recrutement]we do not have the financial capacities that many people attribute to usreplied Eddie Howe at a press conference. We are going to have to be smart, it will be a small group of players, but players who can make a difference.”
Beyond the financial contribution and the attractiveness offered by the Champions League, “sponsors’ attention to the Magpies will change” according to Jean-Pascal Gayant. “Until today, the notoriety of the club was still very modest. Newcastle couldn’t sell shirts all over the world and negotiate commercial contracts with the biggest advertisers.” Now in the spotlight, the project carried by the Gulf country could enter a new dimension, and this from the next transfer window.