According to The Sun, Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed to sell the club to Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan for £350 million.
The Dubai-based billionaire is the cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour and he was keen on buying Liverpool last year, but a £2 billion takeover fell through.
Ashley has often indicated that he will sanction the sale of Newcastle for the right price, and it seems a summer takeover is now on the cards as contracts have been signed between both parties and submitted to the English Premier League.
Amanda Staveley and Peter Kenyon both attempted to buy the Tyneside club of recent, but their offers weren’t good enough to convince Ashley.
He is now ready to let go of the Magpies after 12 years, though, and Sheikh Khaled, a senior member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and president of the UAE Sailing and Rowing Federation is set to be named Newcastle’s new owner.
Manager Rafa Benitez’s contract expires this summer, and Ashley’s refusal to release much-needed transfer funds was the major reason the Spaniard refused to sign an extension all along.
However, with the 61-year-old Sheikh Khaled taking over soon, Newcastle could be on their way to the top of English football after City enjoyed a meteoric rise upon Sheikh Mansour’s arrival, and Benitez won’t hesitate to put pen to paper.
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