Newcastle’s rebirth: from Premier League relegation fight to Champions League qualification at the hands of Arab sheikhs

The appearance of Arab sheikhs and their economic contribution appears to be a specter just getting started in the world of football. The effects they cause allow their continuity. While a club like Manchester Citybacked by Abu Dhabi money, he’s about to win his first Champions League and has been among the sport’s elite for a decade, an English historian emerges from the bill-watered depths of Asia. Regard newcastlewho two years ago joined the small group to which the paris saint germain. The difference is that his first objective was not to retain the titles, but to save himself from relegation and form a progressively competitive team. But the Arab effect paid off in record time and has already given its fans aspirations for great things..

The current season of Premier League He thrilled all the ‘Urracas’ fans once again. Two decades Newcastle United hadn’t set foot on Champions League and it took him just over a year to confirm that he was already among the best, at least locally.

After a season without irregularities, last Monday’s draw against Leicester City classified the magpies for the first time in European competition since the 2003-2004 seasonwhen they fell in the group stage.

From that year, Newcastle’s decline began, which was aggravated when it was bought by Mike Ashley in 2007. The club, four times Premier League champions, gradually began to sink in the table, losing weight against better armed and bigger budgeted sides. While the decadence was increasingly consolidated, simultaneously Chelsea AND Manchester City began to emerge, and were joined by a Tottenham more and more capable of being among the protagonists.

Its sunset had two valleys, in the 2008-2009 season, when they fell to the Second Division, and in 2015-2016, when they were relegated again. Although they went straight up on both occasions, time was very rare in their stadium, St James Parkwith managers coming and going and with an Ashley putting the club up for sale twice, first in July 2009, after they were relegated, and then again in October 2017. The small investment was the main frustration of the fans with the owner of the institutionwho went so far as to admit that he regretted taking over the rights to the club.

2021 would be the year things took a turn in the direction of the Magpies. Thus appeared the investment fund of Saudi Arabia, PIF, headed by the prince of the Asian nation, Mohammed bin Salman -the current richest owner in the world with assets of 435 billion euros-. The Asian decided to deposit 300 million and retained 80% of the club’s shares with the aim of returning it to high positions.

The Arabs have taken control of Newcastle with the 2020/2021 season already underway and with the team in the relegation places. However, the new boss’s ideas were clear: gradually build a competitive squad, without wasting money on random purchases. A sports project long term which allows him to aspire to fight for future titles, without thinking that it would bear fruit in less time than expected.

Everything was given cautiously and carefully analyzed. The first step in the mid-season transfer book was to sack the then manager and hire a more modern manager, like Eddie Howe, 45 years. In parallel, they bought players like Kieran Trippier (its current captain) from Atlético Madrid and the Brazilian Bruno Guimaraesamong others, by investing a total of 120 million pounds.

This is how the team was comfortably saved; He went from winning just one game between June and August, to winning eleven games until the end of the season, climbing from penultimate to eleventh place.

The first success has been achieved and the investments to continue building the team have multiplied. Added to the total of five signings in the previous market, the promising striker has arrived alexander isakfor 70 million (the most expensive purchase so far), the central defender Sven Botmann and the archer Nick Pope, who was part of the England squad at the World Cup in Qatar. Total, 292 million euros were spent on nine reinforcements.

Only two of the current figures were already in the squad before the arrival of the Arabs: the Paraguayan Miguel Almiron and the tip Calum Wilson. The former Lanús arrived in England in 2019 but his performance had been erratic up until this season. In it he showed his potential and managed to score 11 goals in 32 games. As for the centre-forward, he became the team’s top scorer with 18 goals.

All the lines have been reinforced and the team has progressively strengthened in every area of ​​the field. Thus it was that European locations began to be the next dream, but Newcastle exceeded expectations and from the 13th round of the Premier League they entered the Champions League positionsabandoning it in just four days and leaving the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool relegated.

With their presence in the top four in the Premier League already established, next year the place of this team in Europe will be revealed. And despite the commitments to play in the Champions League, the English club still does not despair of signing stellar contracts.

“They associate us with different players, all of them incredible, but we can’t sign like that. We must hire wisely“said their coach Howe. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is rubbing its hands with a project that has paid off much earlier than expected.

With information from EFE extension.