Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shares a brutally honest take on Saudi Arabian royalty's takeover of Newcastle United.
Newcastle's new ownership group sent shockwaves across the Premier League, receiving comments from fans and team executives that the team has extreme buying power.
These comments aren't baseless because the takeover is valued at 300 million pounds ($409 million). Mohammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, has control of 80% of the Public Investment Fund that purchased the team.
Although the league's approval reiterates that the fund has “legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle,” Liverpool's boss stresses the possible effects of a move with this kind of financial magnitude.
Via USA today
“Actually, I was waiting for some official statements about it from (Premier League chief executive) Richard Masters or somebody else, because we all know there are obviously concerns about human rights issues,” Klopp said. “I think that's all clear, we all think the same there.”
“The new owners of Newcastle have enough money to buy the whole league,” Klopp said. “Maybe they will fancy that at one point, and it opens up again and everyone has the same chance.”
“Obviously,” Klopp added, “the Premier League, or Richard Masters, thought, ‘Yeah, let’s give it a go.' It's not the first time, but as far as I know, it's the first club which is now owned by a country. I'm not sure how many countries are still out there who have the financial power and interests to do so, but this is how it is.”
Newcastle sits at 19th of the Premier League table with zero wins so far this season. However, Liverpool's manager predicts that this won't be the case in “in five, six, seven years,” as Newcastle has the power to achieve English dominance.
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