Newcastle United fans gathered to celebrate their £305m takeover by Saudi
Arabia on Thursday (7/10).
The deal ends the 14-year tenure of businessman Mike Ashley and switches to
a consortium overseen by Saudi prince Muhammad bin Salman (MBS) through the
Public Investment Fund (PIF).
''Not only became the richest club in the English Premier League, with this
transfer of ownership, Newcastle United became the club with the richest owner
in the world. PIF's net worth is known to reach 320 billion pounds,'' Marca
reports, Saturday (9/10).
On the other hand, the human rights organization Amnesty International requested
a meeting with the Premier League authorities regarding the purchase of
Newcastle United by MBS, who is considered to have a bad record on human
rights. They consider the purchase of Newcastle as part of an effort to improve
the image of the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia or what is
commonly called sportwashing.
