One of Newcastle United’s former directors visited the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia HQ earlier this week.
Staveley and Ghodoussi’s PCP Partners and RB Sports & Media each purchased a 10% stake in Newcastle United as part of the £305million takeover led by the Public Investment of Saudi Arabia in October 2021.
It was then that Staveley and Ghodoussi took charge of the day-to-day running of the football club, helping to appoint Eddie Howe as head coach before embarking on an 18-month journey from battling relegation to qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
Having overseen big money arrivals such as Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, the pair’s last act at Newcastle was to help sort the PSR situation, which ultimately ended in the sales of Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh to Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion last June 30.
Around 10 days later, it was announced that their stake had been acquired by PIF and RB Sports & Media at an 85%/15% split. Despite their departure, the married couple are still avid fans of Newcastle, both publicly expressing their delight at Howe’s side winning the Carabao Cup - where they were in attendance against Liverpool at Wembley - and again qualifying for the Champions League.
Mehrdad Ghodoussi visits PIF HQ in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh
And both have retained a strong relationship with those at PIF too, with Ghodoussi revealing he paid a visit to their headquarters in Riyadh earlier this week. Uploading a photo of the PIF building to his Instagram story, Ghodoussi wrote: “always a pleasure to visit @publicinvestmentfund”.
Former Newcastle United co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi visited PIF HQ on Wednesday.Former Newcastle United co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi visited PIF HQ on Wednesday.
Former Newcastle United co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi visited PIF HQ on Wednesday. | Instagram
There are fans who hope or maybe still believe Staveley and Ghodoussi will one day return to Newcastle United. So if you’re that way inclined, then you may find the timing interesting given it came just a day after it was announced that Paul Mitchell is leaving his role as Newcastle sporting director at the end of the June.
The boardroom at St James’ Park is set for a shake-up this summer, with Darren Eales also poised to step down as CEO due to health reasons. To that end, bringing back Staveley and Ghodoussi would be a popular decision among most, though one that is unlikely at this stage.
Why was Ghodoussi there on Wednesday, then? Well, there could be other business to discuss. Or it could be that he just fancied a catch-up with some old faces
Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi previously linked with
Late last year, the pair were linked with non-PIF business dealings, including potential investment at Tottenham Hotspur. But Staveley says nothing will compare to Newcastle United.
She told The Athletic last year: “Nothing is going to replicate that. I fell in love with Newcastle, the club and the people and that can’t change, but I didn’t want to get in Newcastle’s way. It’s got to be about what’s best for Newcastle.
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“Mehrdad and I are keen to be hands-on. We’re hard-working people, I love to be very busy and to engage and I love football. Very sadly, we have to move on to other projects and that might involve us taking a stake in another club or buying another club and that’s difficult. But it’s possible.
“I don’t know what my future holds, but you can never move on from the love I have for Newcastle and I would love to come back for matches. I’m a Geordie now. I’m a Yorkshire Geordie, but I will always have that chemistry and that love.”
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