Kieran Maguire: Newcastle United set for £225m transfer boost as summer deal on cards
Newcastle United know that they could spend 75 per cent of a £300million St James’ Park naming rights deal on wages and transfers if the Premier League mirrors Uefa’s new FFP system.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Newcastle‘s plans to boost commercial revenue and unlock the spending power of their Saudi owners.
Industry sources told Football Insider on Tuesday (25 October) that the Magpies could bank up to £30m annually from a 10-year sponsorship deal for their 52,000-capacity stadium.
It is understood that such a deal is likely to incorporate a front-of-shirt sponsorship arrangement and branding privileges at the club’s training complex.
Commercial revenue stagnated under previous owner Mike Ashley.
Maguire illustrated just how important this revenue stream will be in the Tynesiders’ quest to smash the glass ceiling.
“Under Mike Ashley, Newcastle’s commercial income only grew by 12 per cent over a 13 or 14-year period,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“That is the lowest of any club that was regularly in the Premier League in that period. By contrast, Man City’s commercial income has grown by 1060 per cent over the same period.
“That is indicative of how far Newcastle fell behind during Ashley’s period of ownership. This is clearly an area that the new owners are keen to develop.
“If we move to a similar financial Fair Play environment to the one that is currently used by Uefa, which is a soft wage cap as a percentage of revenues, for every extra million pounds Newcastle can generate through commercial deals, that’s another £750,000 for the wage budget if we assume it’s a 75 per cent cap.
“Two or three of those and you have got a player’s wages paid for.”
In other news, Newcastle United set sights on signing A-list star as PIF green light January deal.