Newcastle United supporters have been reacting to football finance expert Kieran Maguire’s estimated valuation of the club should they suffer relegation to the Championship this season.
Current owner Mike Ashley has been trying to sell the St. James’ Park outfit for several years without any luck. He first put the club up for sale in 2008, and with his interest in the side’s success waining ever since, the Magpies have endured two separate spells in the second tier under his ownership.
Over the summer, Ashley came close to agreeing on a £300m deal with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment fund before the controversial consortium rejected the Premier League’s offer of arbitration to determine who would own the club.
The Sports Direct owner and retail tycoon is still reportedly keen to offload Newcastle to prospective buyers, but Maguire believes a Premier League exit could knock around £100m off of Ashley’s asking price, something fans think will make any potential sale even more unlikely:
“He won’t sell it in the Championship unless someone offers silly money which isn’t going to happen since PIF walked. Ashley will gamble on winning promotion funded by selling the likes of ASM & Dubs. Only if the club stays in the lower leagues long term will he sell up for less.”
“He’s not selling unless it’s an overpriced bid (like the PIF one). We’re bankrolling his retail empire while employing the lowest paid (and qualified) manager in the PL. Bear in mind, most of his businesses are making a loss right now, apart from the Club”
“People are saying it’s easier etc to buy championship clubs. It’s also cheaper to run championship clubs and make a profit still. Just bear that in mind as at the end of the day Ashley is a businessman not a Newcastle supporter”
“He isn’t selling if it’s not for top dollar. He will gamble on staying in the league time & time again with little outlay until someone offers him big bucks. It’s like knowing your house is going up in value so you just keep touching it up rather than spending proper money on it”
“One thing we know about Mike Ashley is that he’s a creature of habit. If we are relegated again he’ll gamble on us coming straight back up again in order to get the max asking price.”
“Ashley may be an unpopular figure in the North East, but he’s a very successful businessman, and the likelihood of him selling Newcastle in a cut-price deal is extremely unlikely.”
“I think he would. Seems like he’s had enough which is good for us”