The staggering amount Mike Ashley gifted to himself after completing Newcastle United takeover

Despite being gone from the helm Mike Ashely still remains a towering presence for Newcastle United.

Whether it be in the form of bad memories of the club pre-takeover or in the many comparisons between him and the new owners, he will always be negatively associated with the club.

Annoyingly for fans, however, it appears Ashely will look at his time at Newcastle in a far more positive light.

Yesterday, Ashley’s companies MASH Holdings Limited and St James Holdings Limited published their full accounts from June 2020 to June 2022- revealing his financial gains from the takeover.

The accounts show from the £305 million sale, Ashely paid himself a massive £60 million for his troubles before putting the rest back into his business.

Pockets deepened, the former Newcastle United owner has since made a ‘flurry of investments,’ spending money in a way many believe he never did on Tyneside.

Despite not leaving surrounded by love from Magpies fans, Ashley told The Sun he fought ‘tooth and nail’ to see the takeover through and had the club’s best interests at heart. However, now it’s also clear just how big his financial incentive was.

He said: “I received a higher offer for the club than the one that I accepted. It was from another reputable bidder who made a credible case … But I felt the bid that we accepted from the current new owners would deliver the best for Newcastle United. Money wasn’t my only consideration. There were times when I stepped in financially to keep Newcastle United afloat.

“We ensured the wage bills were paid when we went down in order that we could bounce straight back up. Nobody was happier than me when we achieved immediate promotion.”

“I’ve known for some time now that many Newcastle fans were frustrated by the situation and were in favour of a change. I therefore felt that I owed it to the fans to fight tooth and nail over the last 18 months or so to make this happen.”