Newcastle to claim compensation for missing Saudi deals after chiefs”surprise’ at Manchester City case

Newcastle United has been keeping a close eye on Manchester City’s APT lawsuit against the Premier League.

The defending Premier League champions declared victory after the decision in their linked party transactions case was reached this week.

The Premier League implemented the regulations following the PiF takeover of Newcastle in 2021, with the goal of discouraging clubs from entering into inflated sponsorship arrangements with businesses associated to their owners.

City challenged the Premier League over those regulations, which were judged to be “unlawful,” but the 175-page decision from the case resulted in both sides claiming victory.

Newcastle has been hamstrung by Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules in recent seasons, and the club has been striving to increase commercial revenue in order to avoid a repeat of the disastrous summer transfer window.

Newcastle chiefs could claim for missed Saudi Arabia deals

GRV financial specialist Adam Williams outlined how Newcastle will benefit from Manchester City’s legal triumph, claiming that the outcome would have been “celebrated” by the club’s hierarchy.

The Athletic reports that City may pursue damages after having sponsorship deals rejected and delayed.

According to the source, Newcastle could follow suit and seek compensation for any possible business partnerships lost due to the “unlawful” APT rules.

It continues to reference Amanda Staveley and Merhdad Ghodoussi, who stated in 2022 that they did not have a slew of Saudi-based projects ready when the takeover was approved.

However, there has been a definite effort at St James’ Park to increase commercial revenue, and if the APT rules impeded or prevented any transactions, Newcastle may potentially seek financial compensation.

Newcastle chiefs’ ‘surprise’ reaction to Man City legal case

The same source has shown how the hierarchy at St James’ Park has reacted to the news of City’s court success.

It alleges that those “at the top of the club” were surprised and had no instant grasp of what it might mean.

Their immediate response was characterised as “good news, but likely not a game changer in terms of revenue.”

Finally, Newcastle will have to wait and see how the APT regulations are rewritten before determining how advantageous this will be in the long term.

PiF cannot just throw money at the club to increase commercial revenue, but it may give the team more freedom in the partnerships it can make.