Newcastle United cult hero Tino Asprilla has slammed Mike Ashley after 13 years of anguish on Tyneside.
Ashley is waiting for news from the Premier League to learn whether a takeover deal with Amanda Staveley's PCP Capital Partners and Saudia Arabia's Public Investment Fund can be done in the next four weeks.
Asprilla hopes that ambition can return to the big stage at St James' Park.
He said: "Mike Ashley? He has acted in such a bad way for Newcastle United.
"Since the first day that he bought the team, he thought about his own personal benefit and he didn’t think about the club or the city.
"I know the supporters have suffered a lot since Ashley arrived because he always used the team to make money and sell players.
"He never looked to win the title or have an internationally-competitive team, as it was before."
Asprilla, like a lot of United fans, is dreaming of better days ahead.
Speaking to the Sun, he said: "I want us to create a team like Manchester City, teams with money like Paris Saint-Germain.
"I hope we can buy the best players and compete at an international level and fight for the Premier League and European titles.
"With the Saudi money I hope we can create a team like the one we had in 1996-97 when we fought for the Premier League."
