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UEFA clampdown deals major blow to Newcastle’s transfer strategy
Premier League clubs in recent years have taken advantage of selling unwanted players to Saudi Arabian clubs for inflated transfer fees in order to balance the books and raise funds for quality signings.
However, that has not been the case with Newcastle United, despite their strong Saudi connections. The Premier League side shares direct ownership with four top Saudi Arabian clubs, like Al Hilal, Al Ahli, Al Ittihad and Al Nassr. However, they have not been able to capitalise on the situation and sell some of their players to those clubs for lucrative fees.
This is because Newcastle has been limited by UEFA rules that prevent them from making a profit from all associated-party player sales.
Chief financial officer, Simon Capper, told The Gazette: “It doesn’t stop us doing business. What it means is if we make a profit, it doesn’t count.
“We sell a player that’s worth a pound for £10million and make a profit of £9.999million in the Premier League but make a profit of zero in UEFA. We just don’t get a profit.
“[Other clubs doing lucrative business with Saudi clubs] is some frustration for us. Our competitors can sell a player to a Saudi club for massive profit and bank that for their various compliance calculations.”
The UEFA rules have certainly hurt Newcastle in transfers, and this has been echoed by manager Eddie Howe in the past as well. It is clear that they would like to put together an ambitious team, but the regulations have not made it easy for them to send their unwanted players to Saudi Arabia or to bring in top-quality players at high fees.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle can find a way to circumvent these regulations in future and build a formidable team.
The post UEFA clampdown deals major blow to Newcastle’s transfer strategy appeared first on CaughtOffside.
