How Newcastle United aim to take on 'big six' off the pitch; Everton and 777 Partners face anxious wait as other interested parties watch on; FSG investor ponders team sale

This week's Bottom Line newsletter brings you the latest goings on from around European football

Newcastle line up ahead of their Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund (GETTY IMAGES)

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

For Newcastle United and their supporters there is plenty to be chipper about right now.

Up to sixth in the Premier League, enjoying Champions League football for the first time in 20 years, not to mention the fact that success moving forward will likely be built upon sustainable foundations due to the long-term goals of the club’s uber-wealthy, if not somewhat controversial ownership by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund.

Ever since the PIF acquired the Magpies back in late 2021, there has been much scrutiny of the club from the outside, with the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi managing some £500bn in assets globally and a seemingly bottomless pit of money to pursue the sporting ambitions of a nation.

With so much of the spotlight placed upon the club since the takeover focusing on the ownership and its strong links to a gulf nation with a poor human rights record, the club have taken a more calm and cautious approach to building the club, more so than perhaps many would have expected. A top four finish last year and subsequent qualification for European football’s elite knockout club competition was something that arrived ahead of schedule.

For some years now in the Premier League there has been the established ‘top six’; Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Given the resource behind the club and the plans for future growth, there is a case for that to be now a ‘big seven’, a group where Newcastle want to establish themselves and displace those who have long existed in the elite club.

In order to comply with both the financial regulations in place for UEFA and the Premier League, an open wallet policy has not been adopted at St James’ Park, and the approach of Amanda Staveley and the rest of the Newcastle hierarchy has been in stark contrast to what has been seen at Chelsea under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, where more than £1bn has been spent on transfers alone since they arrived some nine months after the PIF on Tyneside.

Key to the plan is the growth of commercial revenues to support heavier investment into the football club. In recent months major sponsorship deals with Middle Eastern firms such as Sela, Noon and Saudia have all been inked, with the club leaning on the strong connection it has with the Gulf region through ownership, as well as making the most of tapping into the rise in engagement in the game in the region. Spearheading the charge to re-imagine what Newcastle do commercially is Peter Silverstone, formerly of Arsenal, who arrived at the club from One Football, one of the world’s largest football media platforms where he served as senior vice-president of global development.

Speaking at Leaders Week in London recently, where the Bottom Line was present, Newcastle chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone said: “The last time I was at Leaders in Abu Dhabi the president of the Saudi Arabian FA was talking about how football was the number one, number two and number three sport in the country.