Following a meeting of all 20 Premier League teams in London yesterday, it was announced that clubs voted AGAINST a temporary restriction on related-party transactions ahead of the January transfer window.
Newcastle, Manchester City, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield United, Wolves, Everton, and Burnley all voted against the alteration, resulting in a 12-8 tie.
The reaction from the mainstream media was telling and, frankly, disgraceful, with the BBC, The Telegraph, The Mail, and talkSPORT all tweeting deceptive headlines:
BBC- ‘Newcastle will be allowed to sign players on loan from the Saudi Pro League in January after a vote by Premier League teams on a temporary ban on related-party loans failed to garner the needed support.’
The Telegraph – ‘A Newcastle United-led rebellion has barely thwarted Premier League measures to effectively restrict the club from borrowing players from the Saudi Pro League,’ according to the BBC.
The Mail- reports, ‘BREAKING: Premier League prepared to ALLOW Newcastle to loan Saudi talents.’
TalkSPORT – ‘BREAKING: Newcastle are free to sign players on loan from the Saudi Pro League in January after Premier League clubs voted against introducing a ban.’
The Sun – ‘Newcastle are allowed to sign Saudi superstars after Premier League rivals fail by ONE VOTE to stop controversial transfer rule.’
It appears that the voting was solely focused on Newcastle, creating the impression that only Newcastle will gain from loan links with Ruben Neves and other Saudi Pro League stars. It’s as if we’re the only Premier League club with substantial stakes in other clubs and so the capacity to make related-party deals. What about Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest? What about Chelsea and Strasbourg? Lyon and Crystal Palace? What about Brighton and Union SG? Man United and Nice after Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival? Man City and its multi-club model in Spain, America, Japan, and Australia?! They didn’t seem to match the narrative…Nonetheless, the majority of those teams have benefited from related-party arrangements for considerably longer than Newcastle.
In reality, the only deal we’ve done with PIF-owned Saudi Pro League clubs (Al Ahli, Al Ittihad, Al Hilal, and Al Nassr) has been selling Allan Saint-Maximin to Al Ahli for significantly less than we could’ve received had a Premier League club come forward, but the reaction to yesterday’s vote suggests we’re about to run wild.
If the question had been’should we allow Newcastle to loan players from the Saudi League?’ the answer would have been a resounding 19-1. But it wasn’t, and seven other teams voted no, knowing they could benefit from related-party deals as well. ‘Forest FREE to sign Olympiacos stars’ probably doesn’t have the same ring to it…
Newcastle will be permitted to sign players on loan from the Saudi Pro League in January after a vote by Premier League clubs on a temporary ban on related-party loans did not receive the support required to be introduced.
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 21, 2023
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