Newcastle fans’ prayers were answered on Thursday when it was announced that Mike Ashley had sold the Magpies to a Saudi consortium - and they are expected to pump a lot of money into the club.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, who now own 80 per cent of the Toon Army, bought Newcastle for approximately £300million.
They are estimated to be worth £320billion which makes them the wealthiest club owners in Europe, with Paris Saint-Germain’s owners, Qatar Investment Authority, being an almighty £100bn poorer.
The takeover is being compared to that of Manchester City ’s, who were taken over by Sheikh Mansour’s Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.
Mansour has put a lot of money into the Cityzens to help them become the club they are today, but he has also wasted a lot which new Magpies owner Mohammed bin Salman can learn from - especially now that it has been reported by the Daily Mail that Newcastle could have £200m to spend over the next three years.
In City’s first season under new ownership, they spent £82.5m on new signings, with £32.5m of that being spent on forward Robinho.
The Brazilian was a deadline day purchase completed to indicate that City were serious about becoming one of the best, but Robinho was anything but that in his 41 league appearances.
He disappointed and hardly featured in his second season at the Etihad Stadium - so was sold to AC Milan after a loan spell at boyhood club Santos.
Nigel de Jong (£17m) is an example of a more successful signing made by Mark Hughes that summer.
The Dutchman was brought in to shore up the midfield as they progressed up the table, but he ended up as a title winner due to how he flourished.
Now a pundit, De Jong spent three years at Manchester and made 104 league appearances, scoring just once, before moving to AC Milan as well.
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Another more fruitful incoming was Craig Bellamy, who was signed that summer from West Ham for £14m after they failed to secure the signature of Kaka – quite the difference.
Bellamy made 40 league appearances in two seasons and scored 12 goals, though his injury problems prevented him from making a greater impact at City, an issue that overshadowed his entire footballing career.
Wayne Bridge was another signing with Premier League experience that summer, and although he didn’t set the league alight, he was a reliable fullback.
The English defender was purchased from Chelsea for £12m and was a first-team regular for his first two seasons at the club before being replaced by Aleksandar Kolarov and Gael Clichy later down the line.
City brought in two keepers in 2008 to round off their summer spending spree – Shay Given and Gunnar Nielsen.
Given was eventually displaced by Joe Hart but made 50 appearances for the club, but Roberto Mancini did label him ‘one of the best goalkeepers in the world’ at one point.
As for Nielsen, he played just 17 minutes of Premier League football after Given had to be replaced against Arsenal due to injury. However, although he made very little impact for City, Nielsen did make history by becoming the first-ever Faroese player to ever play in the English top-flight.
Of all those signings, only a few were worthwhile. Although these owners have money to burn, they need to make sure they are confident that all their incomings improvement their squad or else they forfeit bringing in other players due to Financial Fair Play regulations.
Newcastle's reported budget of well over £200m puts them in a position of immense power, but if they don't spend it wisely they risk prolonging getting to where they want to be.
