Peter Kenyon has admitted he just 'couldn't quite get' his bid to take over Newcastle United 'over the line'.
ChronicleLive previously revealed that the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive thought the Magpies were 'the last of the sleeping giants'.
Indeed, such was that long-standing belief, Kenyon first discussed the possibility of getting involved at Newcastle with friends when he left Chelsea back in 2009.
Kenyon went on to work as an adviser for Atletico Madrid and Middlesbrough while his company, Opto Advisers, were involved in the takeovers of PSG and Wolves - but he always kept an eye on the Magpies' situation.
The 66-year-old looked to team up with Joseph Da Grosa and GACP Sports, who set up two holding companies in the US, to take over the black-and-whites.
Kenyon's attempts to form a consortium came to light in September, 2018 and, a year ago, a 46-page document was sent to potential investors, which outlined their proposal to pay Mike Ashley £125m up front and a further £175m over three years.
The former Umbro chief has not previously gone on the record about that but he did briefly touch on the bid in a wide-ranging interview about his time in football with the Daily Telegraph.
“We just couldn’t quite get that over the line," he said.
The fate of Newcastle's prospective takeover, and the bid put together by Amanda Staveley, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and the Reuben Brothers, is still in the hands of the Premier League.
The governing body have been carrying out their owners' and directors' test for several months now and the situation has been complicated by Saudi Arabia's links to piracy.
