Newcastle CEO Darren Eales admits star players could leave under Premier League spending rules
Darren Eales was speaking after Newcastle announced losses of £73.4m in their latest financial results; he admitted every player has a price under the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, which he says make it challenging for an ‘upwardly mobile club’
Newcastle CEO Darren Eales admits the club may need to sell their star players to achieve their ambition of breaking into the Premier League’s top six.
After Saudi Arabia’s Private Investment Fund, worth an estimated £700bn, took over Newcastle in 2021, Amanda Staveley told Sky Sports News the aim was for the club to win the Premier League in the next five to 10 years.
But the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) appear to have tempered those expectations.
Eales, speaking after Newcastle announced losses of £73.4m in their latest financial results, admitted every player has a price under the current rules, which he says make it challenging for an ‘upwardly mobile club’.
Asked directly whether Alexander Isak, Sven Botman or Bruno Guimaraes could be sold, Eales said: “On any player, at any time, it depends on circumstances. It’s difficult to hypothesis but, if we’re offered £1bn for one of those players, then no-one could argue against that making sense.
Asked directly whether Alexander Isak, Sven Botman or Bruno Guimaraes could be sold, Eales said: “On any player, at any time, it depends on circumstances. It’s difficult to hypothesis but, if we’re offered £1bn for one of those players, then no-one could argue against that making sense.
“Any decision we make will always be against the backdrop of the medium to long-term benefit for the club. It’s difficult to say specifically on certain players, but I can say that, if we’re going to get to where we want to get to, at times it is necessary to trade your players.
“Whether that is because of the contract length of the player in question, the offer is too good to refuse, you need to reload in certain areas, but all of this could make sense to trade that player. It is counter-intuitive and part of the inherent system of PSR that there is an incentive to trade your players if you want to re-invest, by the nature of the boundaries.”