Gary Neville has stressed that he had 'no problem' with Newcastle United's takeover - even if the Manchester United legend has taken issue with the Saudi Pro League's big-money moves.
As well as controlling an 80% stake in Newcastle, of course, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) have also taken ownership of the Pro League's four biggest clubs: Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal and Al Nassr. To date, the PIF have already convinced Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kante and Ruben Neves to join Cristiano Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia, and more big names will follow.
Experienced internationals are being targeted at a time when Chelsea are clearing their decks to generate transfer funds, reduce an eye-watering wage bill and cut a bloated squad. Chelsea, as a result, have found an enthusiastic buyer for Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, Hakim Ziyech and Kante in the PIF, who have longstanding links to the club's owners.
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Although ChronicleLive has established that specific reassurances were provided by Chelsea's owners to the Premier League that the PIF would not, and could not, be an investor in the future, Neville has called for an 'instant embargo' on transfers to Saudi Arabia until the top-flight look into the ownership structure at Chelsea and whether there are 'beneficial transfer dealings that are improper'. However, on the subject of Newcastle's takeover, Neville sounded a different note.
"When the Saudis took over at Newcastle, I spoke openly that I didn't have a problem with the ownership coming in," he told the Football Supporters' Congress via the MEN. "That will be unpopular with a few people in this room, but I haven't had a problem with Abu Dhabi over the last 10 years.
"What I do have a problem with is improper transactions [transfers]. I would also like to know how the Saudis have got into the Premier League, so I'd like to have transparency. I'd like to know the set criteria for how an owner gets into a football club.
"The word on the street was Boris Johnson said 'in they come' and whether that's true or not, will probably be revealed in the future."
