Newcastle United to receive £73m PSR boost on July 1 as transfer restrictions labelled ‘unfair’
Newcastle United are set to wipe the final Mike Ashley season from their three-year PSR balance sheet.
Football financial expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Newcastle United’s healthier balance sheet will give them a £73millilion boost in the transfer market.
This figure is the amount the Magpies lost during the 2021-22 campaign - the year of the Saudi-backed takeover. The bulk of this loss was due to player recruitment in January as Newcastle desperately tried to save their Premier League status.
Eddie Howe coasted to survival but that initial outlay has hindered spending moving forward. While the likes of Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes have become pillars of United’s success, Chris Wood and Matt Targett - initially on loan - were brought in to do a job.
Toon chiefs might have looked elsewhere had they not inherited a club in such a perilous position. On top of that, Newcastle’s commercial income was lightyears behind its current standing.
Mike Ashley stagnated Newcastle United’s growth
Mike Ashley bought a club ranked 13th in the world for revenue. When the Sports Direct tycoon sold up, the Magpies sat 29th in the table as growth stagnated.
Efforts have been made in recent years to boost Newcastle’s revenue streams to compete with the Premier League elite. Adidas returning as kit supplier and Sela’s front-of-shirt sponsor worth a reported £25million per year are two examples.
Final Mike Ashley year drops off balance sheet
Monetary guru Maguire noted how Ashley’s final year at St James’ Park dropping off the three-year sheet spells positivity for the Magpies. He told talkSPORT: “The good news for Newcastle United this summer is that the losses that they incurred in 21-22, they lost £73million that year, and that drops out of the PSR equation on July 1.
“So they are going to be in a far better financial position than they've been in the last three windows, and they therefore will be in a position where they can recruit. Being able to offer Champions League football is certainly beneficial. At the same time, Newcastle United generate half the money of Manchester United, half the amount of money of Arsenal, half the amount of money of Liverpool, and less than half of that of Manchester City. So there is still that gap.
“Personally, if I were Newcastle, I'd be trying to get contract extensions on some of their better players to make sure that other clubs don't come in for them. And that could be just as good a signing if they manage to get an extra year or two out of some of the likes of Bruno (Guimaraes), (Alexander) Isak and Anthony Gordon and so on. Anthony Gordon signed a contract less than a year ago.”
‘Unfair’ - Kieran Maguire slams PSR
Maguire also theorised how there was an ulterior motive behind introducing PSR restrictions. Had the Magpies been taken over before its introduction, they - like Man City and Paris Saint-Germain - would already be European heavyweights.
“It does seem unfair and, if we go back to the history of cost control methods, initially it was called FFP, financial fair play and so on, that was very much driven by the bigger clubs because they saw the potential changes in European football,” he added. “First of all, you've got Roman Abramovich in Chelsea, then Sheikh Mansour acquiring Manchester City, we've got the Qatari Sports Institute acquiring Paris Saint-Germain, of course they've just won the Champions League.
“The established elite didn't like the idea of new money coming into football, so, therefore, they introduced these measures, claiming that the aim was to improve the finances of European football, but actually it was to try to create a glass ceiling. Now City, Chelsea and PSG got in before those rules changed.
“We now have clubs, and I think you're absolutely right to name the likes of Newcastle and Villa, and I think you could probably include Forest there as well, who are ambitious and aspirational and they want to move to the next level. The owners are willing to fund that move to the next level, but the cost control measures prevent them from doing so, so it's a function of time.”