Yasir Al-Rumayyan appearance confirmed after Newcastle United disappointment & 'false dream' question

Al-Rummayan - chair of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia - last visit to Tyneside came in October last year when the Magpies hammered Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in the Champions League.

His latest appearance comes at a time when the mood is very different to that night against PSG amid changes at boardroom level and a disappointing summer transfer window that saw young duo Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh sold and no major signings brought in.

It led to head coach Eddie Howe being asked if Newcastle fans had been sold a ‘false dream’ by PIF after Al-Rummayan said in an interview last year he wants the club to be “number one”. Certainly, 54-year-old’s public appearance - and show of support - alongside PIF members Asma Rezeeq and Jacobo Solis is well-timed.

Howe said on Friday: “I think when PIF took over, and don’t want to speak for PIF, that is very difficult to do, I think the landscape was different then, compared to now.

“A lot has changed in terms of PSR: the biggest change, the inability to spend, and our need to comply with rules to prevent a points deduction. Of course that impacts the ability to progress the club as quickly as maybe they wanted to.

“I don’t think the dream dies, necessarily, it takes a lot longer. We have got to build our revenue streams, that is the biggest thing. Bring more money into the football club, however we do that, sponsorship, loads of things. That is the big thing we need to focus on in the next ten years, whether I am lucky enough to see any of that, who knows. So the dream is not over, it is just going to take a lot, lot longer.”