'Excited' - Newcastle United CEO makes fresh PIF claim after shock double decision

Newcastle fans were left shocked by the news last week that Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi of PCP Partners had stepped down from their roles with their shareholding acquired by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and RB Sports & Media. The new structure sees PIF increase their stake to 85% and RB Sports & Media to 15%.

The persistence and tenacity of Staveley and Ghodoussi were the reason why the Premier League eventually approved the PIF-led takeover in October 2021. After being handed the keys, the wife and husband duo took on some major roles within in the football club and embarked on a rapid journey from surviving relegation to qualifying for the Champions League and reaching the Carabao Cup final.

But appointing people like Eales, Brad Miller and Paul Mitchell has taken the burden away from Staveley and Ghodoussi, leading to a “mutual decision” over their departure.

CEO Eales explained: “A huge thank you to Amanda and Mehrdad for all they did. They were the ownership rather than the day to day and the management team are in place now. We’ve just had Paul Mitchell in as sporting director, Brad Miller as our chief operating officer so I feel like now we’ve actually got that c-suite team together to manage the club going forwards.

“They were a great help and a great resource because they were committed, they were keen. So from that perspective, you know, they were super helpful in terms of being people that cared about the club. But from an operational, day-to-day side they were ownership. 

“This was an ownership decision jointly, a mutual decision. I think business opportunities, for Amanda and Mehrdad moving forward in terms of pursuing some other business ventures which I’m excited to see because they are very motivated. They’re a force of nature so I’m excited to see what they do next.

"Amanda and Mehrdad were very loved by the club and what a great job they did in terms of bringing an ownership group together. They were diligent, they stuck at it and had the tenacity to bring the takeover through so they are always going to be in the hearts of Newcastle fans for what they did.

“They're forces of nature so who knows what they are going to do business wise going forward, but I'm excited to watch them. From a personal capacity, a huge thank you to them because they brought me in. They were part of the process of trying to build the foundations for long-term success.”

The club has quickly moved on from Staveley and Ghodoussi’s exits. Focus is firmly on the upcoming season, one Eales believes is “big”.

He said: “As far as the PIF are concerned and Jamie Reuben on behalf of the Reuben family, they are committed. This is an ownership group that have got a big portfolio of companies. In one sense, on a scale of investment, it's probably one of their smallest but in terms of profile and their interest, it's one of their highest. We can see that from what we are trying to do at the club in terms of the journey they're going on and they're fully committed.

“We're excited. I've spoken about the end of the cycle with PSR and this is a big year for us now going forward as we go on that journey to become a club competing for trophies and being in Europe every season. That's got to be our aim going forward.”