da apostebet： The proposed takeover of Newcastle United could have potentially been boosted by the latest activity from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
da supremo： According to the Financial Times (FT), the country have approached the Bundesliga to see if they can gain the TV rights to show their games in the Middle East in the latest attempt to seek new investments in football.
The governing body that runs Germany’s highest division are currently in exclusive talks with Qatari-based beIN Sports to renew their deal of five years with the company, which equates to $250 million (roughly £200.9 million).
However, this deal runs out when the 2019/20 German season finishes, meaning that the Saudis could be looking to pounce if a new contract cannot be agreed.
This could be a potential sign that the prospective takeover of the Tyneside club will happen, as the KSA are now looking to invest in a different major footballing league to the English Premier League.
Qatar accused Saudi Arabia of running the pirate satellite television channel beoutQ, which illegally broadcasts and streams live games from the top flight, in their own country, hence breaking their own international laws as the Qataris solely hold the rights to show these types of matches in their part of the world.
KSA were found guilty of this by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) following the release of their report, meaning that the country have had to look elsewhere for rights to show the beautiful game.
However, the fact that they now seem to be turning their attentions away from England’s highest division and are now looking to buy footballing TV rights legally may be a sign that the Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s £300 million deal to buy out Mike Ashley may indeed come into fruition from their bid to stamp out piracy in their country.
Geordies, is this a sign that the takeover will happen? Comment below!