Newcastle United still in the red despite heavy investment

Newcastle United’s recent seasons have shown how a club can hit a low then suddenly shoot to a real high, of course with some heavy investment. From a club struggling in the relegation region of the Premier League, the Magpies rose after a big-money takeover, and within two seasons, were playing in the premier club competition in Europe, the UEFA Champions League. It is not a secret that Newcastle United last season established themselves as a football powerhouse in England, finishing ahead of big names that included Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. Their top four finish guaranteed a return to the Champions League after an extended time out, but they would have wished for a longer stay than just exiting at the group stage. Well, not many expected that they would make it out of a group that had giants Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and PSG. Even the bookies, including top sites like Unibet, rated them the underdogs in this group. Clearly, Unibet’s rating didn’t strike too far from the truth, and there’s more of such on the bookie, which definitely has its pros and cons, and you may be interested to find out that Cheekypunter reviews betting sites like Unibet.

Season’s lows

As Newcastle United take the lows of the season, on the back of massive expectations, the losses incurred by the early exit from the Champions League will surely land another blow. The Magpies have just released their financial standing and things don’t look too glossy for one of the heaviest spenders in English football over the past two years. If the Champions League was an additional financial stream at the club, then there has to be alternative plans, because from all indications, the team will struggle to get into the Europa Conference League next season. After 20 matches, Newcastle United are ninth in the standings, having also been eliminated from the League Cup. It is now emerging that to be able to negotiate their way through the Financial Fair Play rules, Newcastle United may have to consider selling from an expensively assembled team.

Massive dent

The club reported a £73m loss for the 2022-23 season, leaving a massive dent in the club’s ambitions to match the top sides in the league. While the financial figures for the past season showed a rise in turnover, to £250m, the pre tax loss reported means there is still a long way to go in trying to make the Magpies a sustainable top-six club. This much was acknowledged by the club’s chief executive, Darren Eales. Interest-free loans to a part of the club management haven’t helped much. In the financial report, the club loaned co-owner Amanda Staveley £600,000 in November 2022 and a further £659,000 in August 2023 and the first hadn’t been repaid as at June 2023. An investment of more than £400m in the playing unit since the club’s takeover means there is very little room remaining to manoeuvre around the FFP. As a result, some of their top stars have emerged as targets from other clubs, and Newcastle United might have to consider selling to stay on good financial footing.