Newcastle Utd takeover 'was controlled by Mohammed bin Salman', leaked WhatsApp messages suggest
Former Newcastle United director Amanda Staveley warned 'the Crown Prince is losing patience' as she battled to get the club's controversial takeover over the line, leaked messages have revealed.
A tranche of WhatsApp messages seen by The Telegraph suggest that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, personally controlled the £305million takeover by the state's sovereign wealth fund.
Ms Staveley was in charge of the deal which saw British tycoon Mike Ashley sell Newcastle to the Gulf Kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021.
The high-flying financier, who once rejected a marriage proposal from Prince Andrew, left the club after selling her shares earlier this year. She has since been linked with buying a stake in Tottenham Hotspur.
But new leaked messages have thrown the takeover back into the limelight as they suggest the Crown Prince, who is accused of ordering the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was signing off on key decisions during negotiations.
When trying to push the deal through, Ms Staveley in one message warned Ashley's team that 'the Crown Prince is losing patience'. In another, she said the governor of PIF was 'trying to... convince the Crown Prince not to pull out'.
It raises fresh questions over the political involvement in the deal and the truth behind the guarantees that were made to the Premier League to ensure the takeover went through.
Leaked WhatsApp messages suggest that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally controlled the takeover of Newcastle
Ms Staveley was in charge of the deal which saw British tycoon Mike Ashley sell Newcastle to the Gulf Kingdom's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021
These are the messages from Amanda Staveley that have been leaked to The Telegraph. One says that 'the Crown Prince is losing patience'
The Crown Prince is chairman of PIF, but the Premier League has always maintained it had 'received legally binding assurances that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not control Newcastle United Football Club'.
On August 6 2020, Ms Staveley is said to have called upon the Saudi ambassador to the UK to help salvage the deal.
'The UK Saudi ambassador spoke to the Crown Prince this morning,' she said.
Another message from the businesswoman sent later that month said: 'We need to update the Saudi Ambassador at 4pm as he needs to update the Crown Prince.'
In April 2021, then Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government 'was not involved at any point in the takeover talks on the sale of Newcastle'.
However, Ms Staveley was communicating with Lord Grimstone and told Ashley's team that the then minister for investment 'pushed behind the scenes and made it very clear that their preference is for the deal to go ahead'.
The Mail also revealed in April 2021 that Johnson said 'brilliant' when he was told the deal was back on track.
When Newcastle initially tried to sell the club to a consortium led by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Premier League blocked it over concerns it would be controlled by the Saudi state in reality.
In the tranche of messages, Amanda Staveley talks about the efforts to 'convince the Crown Prince not to pull out'
Mike Ashley, the British tycoon who owns Sports Direct, sold Newcastle to PIF in October 2021
Newcastle fans celebrate the sale of the club, which saw Mike Ashley eventually leave
Jubilant Newcastle United fans celebrate the club's Saudi takeover outside the stadium
The Premier League later allowed the deal to go through as it was given 'legally binding assurances' that the PIF was separate from the Saudi state.
Ms Staveley, via lawyers, told The Telegraph that she only ever referenced the Crown Prince in his capacity as PIF chairman. She added that it 'is as illogical as it is misconceived' to suggest her messages raise doubts over whether the assurances about independence from the Saudi state have been adhered to.
At the time, Ms Staveley said the PIF was 'an autonomous commercially driven investment fund'.
Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of PIF, is the non-executive chairman of Newcastle, but the leaked WhatsApp messages suggest the Crown Prince had the final say on the purchase.
On March 3 2020, Ms Staveley told the sellers: The Crown Prince is losing patience – I need to assure him we will get there.'
On July 29 that year, she said: 'HE [His excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan] is trying to hang on to the deal and convince the Crown Prince not to pull out.'
But in October 2020, she messaged Ashley's team to say: 'No10 can't get any further involved than what they have done to date. Gerry [Lord Grimstone] said that they pushed behind the scenes and made it very clear that their preference is for the deal to go ahead, they are obviously very aware of the damage this has caused and the repercussions for future investments.'
Leaked WhatsApp messages show Amanda Staveley saying the Saudis 'are more committed than ever'. She also references the Crown Prince a lot in the messages seen by The Telegraph
Newcastle United fans display a thank you banner to former directors Amanda Staveley and husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi
In other messages, Ms Staveley is seen getting frustrated about the deal.
She says: 'Yasir [Al-Rumayyan] is absolutely fed up. The price was agreed with Mike [Ashley]. Mike keeps trying to re-trade. If he mentions any change to the agreed price of £305 plus a cash sweep of £17.5 then this deal is over.
'If you want more money just sell it to someone else.
'HE [His excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan] is trying to hang on to the deal and convince the Crown Prince not to pull out. We are all aligned in price - it's up to Mike it [sic] decide what he wants to do.'
Newcastle fans were delighted when Ashley finally sold the club to PIF for £305million in October 2021. PIF now owns 80 per cent of the club, with Ms Staveley's PCP Capital Partners owning 10 per cent and property developers David and Simon Reuben owning the final 10 per cent.
A spokesman for PIF told MailOnline: 'In October 2021, following a lengthy investigation, the Premier League announced that the sale of Newcastle United Football Club had completed following the receipt of assurances that the government of Saudi Arabia would not control the Club.
'The facts and circumstances that underpin those assurances, as confirmed at the time to the Premier League, remain unchanged.'
Ms Staveley told The Telegraph that she was 'entirely confident' assurances had been adhered to.
Lord Grimstone said he was kept abreast of large scale investment into the UK in his former role, particularly the Newcastle deal which was 'attracting a great deal of public interest'.
He added: 'I made it very clear to Mr [Gary] Hoffman [ex PL chair] that my only role was to facilitate the passing of ideas between the PIF and Premier League and that in no way did I seek to prejudice the Premier League's complete autonomy in this matter.
'The discussions in the summer of 2020 did not end in any agreement. You will note that the actual takeover of the club did not occur until October 2021, more than a year later. I reiterate that it was not my role to influence the EPL's decision in anyway.
'Naturally, as I would with any high-profile investment coming into the UK, I was concerned that the parties resolved this between themselves courteously and professionally whatever the outcome of their discussions.'
The Premier League declined to comment.
