Newcastle United director Amanda Staveley explains why they overlooked Chelsea ownership
Newcastle United director Amanda Staveley has revealed that the club’s investors turned down Chelsea because they weren’t keen on investing billions.
Staveley is a member of PCP Capital Partners, which in October 2021 acquired the team from Mike Ashley along with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and RB Sports and Media.
Following Roman Abramovich’s sanction after his alleged ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which led to Chelsea being up for sale a few months later. And now there are increasing rumours that Tottenham Hotspur may also be sold soon.
Chelsea are now securely in the Boehly-Clearlake Capital period, but it is believed that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has spoken with a number of potential buyers.
The owners of Liverpool have also acknowledged that they are searching for funding, and Staveley had previously been linked to a purchase at Anfield, but that was before he joined Newcastle.
Staveley claimed in a speech to the FT’s Business of Football conference that their investment in Newcastle was considerably more sensible. She said (h/t Evening Standard):
“We didn’t go for the wonderful Tottenham, Chelsea, or Liverpool because “why spend billions?”
When Chelsea were up for sale, it was one of the club’s darkest periods because several restrictions were placed on the club and Abramovich’s assets were frozen.
The club were bound by a special government registration that tightly limits what they are allowed to do and made it a crime if they do not cooperate. Additionally, broadcasting and prize money were suspended.
But the club has felt some respite since Boehly took charge as the new owners, and we have been able to make some big purchases. Mykhaylo Mudryk and Enzo Fernandez are two of the biggest examples from January, while the likes of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly arrived in the summer.
Having financially sound owners who can support the team in the transfer market has become crucial for clubs. Newcastle fans are lucky to be able to witness this era after the dark days under Mike Ashley but as a Blues fan, one would not mind how things panned out.
Boehly and co. have shown that they are not afraid to spend big and invest directly in the team. One can’t ask for a lot more. Yes, our recruitment can be a bit more streamlined and we can perhaps look to negotiate deals where we don’t pay too much over the top, but that will happen with time.
More Chelsea News:
- Chelsea could hire Brentford boss Thomas Frank if Graham Potter is sacked
- Inter Milan chief confirms Romelu Lukaku will return to Chelsea in the summer
- Mario Melchiot has urged Chelsea to sack Graham Potter if they want to see better results
As long as the money is there and the owners are dedicated to seeing the club succeed in the present and the future, as Boehley and co. are with their vision 2030, things would be fine. One area where we can aim to do a bit better, though, is the manager.
A sound, experienced head coach can help a lot with regard to recruitment policies and training the current players to reach their best level. Can Graham Potter be that man? He hasn’t shown anything until now to make us say ‘yes’.
