Newcastle United: The New Richest Club In The World

In the 2021 list of Forbes magazine, which includes the richest soccer clubs in the world, nine English clubs appear in the top 20. Of those nine, Manchester United is at the top in position 4 and at the end the Leicester City in 19th position. However, with the recent purchase of Newcastle United shares by a Saudi investment fund, the club has risen to the top position in their country and in the world.

The purchase

For English political and economic analysts, the acquisition of Newcastle United has been worrying due to geopolitical issues, economic competitiveness within the soccer league, and even the negative figure in which the crown prince of the Saudi kingdom has become. But for the club's fans, it has been news that could be compared to a Christmas present, they expect their team to make big player acquisitions, at the level that it represents to be now the richest club in the world.

The Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, chaired by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, acquired 80% of the shares of Newcastle United, for the amount of £ 300 million pounds sterling ($ 409 million), according to information from the English newspaper Talk Sport. It also highlights that the fortune managed by the fund amounts to £ 320 billion pounds sterling ($ 437 billion dollars), something that excites fans who hope that the effect will be similar to that of the purchase of Chelsea in 2003 by the Russian Roman Abramovich who led them to a successful stage.

A historical of England

The first soccer records in the Newcastle region date back to 1877, according to club information. Two teams were born in parallel playing in different venues, East End and West End, the latter collapsed in 1892 which allowed the East End, through an agreement, to take control of the Saint James field and the West End. With this , the city's team was formally born: Newcastle United. The growth was not easy, it took them time to reach the first division, meanwhile what was consolidating was their history, in 1894 they decided to use the colors that now characterize them: black and white striped.

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The record of the Magpies

Once in the first division, in 1899, the club rose to success. In the following decade, they reaped their first league titles in 1905, 1907, and 1909. In the FA Cup, they managed to win the title in 1910 after four tough defeats in the previous years. The First World War had an effect on English soccer, it took Newcastle to regain a league title that lasted until 1927, the last they have obtained until today. Instead, they have reached the FA Cup title on 5 other occasions: 1924, 1932, 1951, and 1955. After those titles the magpies (magpies) were involved in a stage of instability that led to declines and promotions of which the club is just beginning to recover. Since their most recent promotion in 2017, the club has sought to establish themselves in the Premier League, which they could achieve with the current purchase. What they can continue to boast, being a historic club in England, is the loyalty of their fans, the stadium and the rivalry with Sunderland with whom they play the Tyne & Wear Derby.

Some Newcastle United stars

With 125 years of history, numerous stars have paraded through the ranks of Newcastle United, among them, we highlight the goalkeeper Jimmy Lawrence, who is the one who played the most times with the club's shirt with a total of 507 participations between 1904 and 1922. In addition, Lawrence is an example of Newcastle's ties with Scotland, since it is on the border with the country of the United Kingdom. Alan Shearer is Newcastle's top scorer, and to top it off he is also the Premier League's top scorer with 260 goals on his list. Of the current stars, we can mention the Brazilian Joelinton who holds the title as the most expensive purchase in the club's history. For him, Newcastle paid € 44 million euros, although his goal quota has yet to support the value of his purchase. These numbers will surely be small compared to the size of the portfolio that the team now has.