By Kieran Maguire

24th Oct, 2023 | 11:43am

'Let's face it...' - Kieran Maguire cites Liverpool after Newcastle agree controversial new deal

There is no issue with the deal between Newcastle United and Saudia Airlines as long as it passes the fair market assessment.

That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who explained to Football Insider that Liverpool and Man City both have similar deals that share links to their ownership.

Newcastle announced on Thursday (19 October) that they have extended their partnership with Saudia Airlines as their official airline partner.

The deal faced a lot of criticism and controversy due to the shared links between Saudia Airlines and Newcastle owners PIF.

The Magpies faced allegations of sportswashing this summer after signing their £25million per season shirt sponsorship deal with Sela – who are also owned by PIF.

However, Maguire explained that there are plenty of other teams across England with links to their owners yet no eyebrows are raised.

“I don’t see an issue with Newcastle United’s Saudia Airlines deal,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“Let’s face it, Liverpool have a kit deal with Nike, an American company, and they are owned by Americans.

“Yet nobody raises eyebrows.

“Provided that Newcastle have satisfied the Fair Value Committee with regards to the relationship, then you can understand the logic of it.

“It certainly won’t be a soft price, it will be at the upper end of the range, which the Fair Value Committee would deem to be acceptable.

“But exactly the same could be leveled at teams such as Cardiff City with their Malaysian sponsorship and Manchester City with Etihad and so on.

“You’ve even got clubs down as low as Accrington Stanley in League Two who are sponsored by Wham, who’s also owned by owner Andy Holt.

“So it happens in football.

“You’ve just got to ensure that the rules in terms of fair value are followed appropriately.“

In other news, Two potential Newcastle United deals collapse