Kieran Maguire: ‘Sneaky’ rivals fighting to ‘close the door’ on Newcastle after £29m reveal
Newcastle United are the targets of restrictive new Premier League contract legislation.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the controversial measures.
The Times reported on Tuesday (21 December) that all new related-party sponsorship deals will be independently scrutinised for fair market value.
Fair-market assessment will also be applied to one-off payments and new contracts of over £1million to players and staff from associated parties.
The aim is to prevent clubs from circumventing profit and sustainability rules by remunerating those on the payroll through external means.
Maguire claims the regulations, to which 18 top-flight clubs gave their blessing, are aimed squarely at slowing post-takeover Newcastle’s rise.
He told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams: “The intention here is to make the door of the closed shop as tight as a submarine.
“The ‘sneaky six’ don’t want any more competition in the Premier League.
“They feel that the Champions League and other benefits of success in football should be kept within a small cabal.
“They want to prevent Newcastle from getting substantial sponsorship and commercial partners from the Middle East.
“Man United, for example, had £279m of commercial revenue compared to £29m at Newcastle.
“Man United and the rest of the cabal fear that gap being reduced because they see that they want a monopoly.”
This site revealed last Friday (17 December) that Newcastle have agreed a short-term deal with recruitment specialist Nick Hammond.
The former Celtic, Reading and West Brom chief will spearhead the relegation-threatened Magpies’ January transfer programme.
In other news, Danny Mills tells Newcastle United to use Kieran Trippier as springboard for five-signing spree after source’s reveal.