‘I don’t Care’ – Newcastle United Owner Sends Chilling Warning To The World

Mohammed bin Salaman, who heads up the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, who also own Newcastle United, has admitted he doesn’t care about sportswashing.

It will go down as the most controversial takeover in Premier League history as PIF were finally allowed to purchase Newcastle United over 12 months ago now, despite obvious links to the country of Saudi Arabia.

Premier League rules state that a country can not own one club, and despite the league apparently being given reassurances that this would not be the case with PIF, the fact that Yassir Al-Rumayyan sits on the board and is Bin Salaman’s right-hand man begs to differ.

There has been a lot of opposition and criticism from the media and wider footballing world about how have PIF been able to buy a football club, and now ultimately, can provide the Magpies with an infinite amount of money, as long as they get around Financial Fair Player regulations.

Bin Salaman Not Bothered About Sportswashing Claims

One of the biggest reasons behind this negativity toward the takeover was because of the horrendous human rights record boasted by Saudi Arabia who executed 81 men in a single day last year, the criminalisation of homosexuality, restriction of free speech, the war in Yemen and famously, the murder of journalist Jamaal Khashoggi.

Despite all of this being labelled as sportswashing to help Saudi Arabia improve their image, the Prince has spoken out about it and how little he cares, as long as it is helping to improve his country.

🗣️ Saudi Arabia crown prince Mohammed bin Salman has said he does not care about accusations of 'sportswashing'. pic.twitter.com/gYzgMSOm9Q

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 21, 2023

He said: “If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we’ll continue doing sportswashing.

“I don’t care [about the term]. I have 1% growth in GDP from sport and I am aiming for another 1.5%. Call it what you want – we are going to get that 1.5%.”

Newcastle Fans At The Centre Of A Political Games

It’s disappointing to see how Newcastle have become a pawn in this larger political game for a country with such disgusting views on women and people who identify as homosexual and it’s left supporters in a very tricky situation as to how they support their club, but also remain critical of who their owners are and what they are doing.

Newcastle aren’t the only one being used for sportswashing, however, with players such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Jordan Henderson playing over in the Middle East as they boast a booming football league, accepting a lot of money, while also helping to hide what is really going on behind the scenes and away from the glitz and glamour.