PIF and Newcastle United have been working hard to close the financial gap to their Premier League rivals.
The latest 2023/24 club accounts published this week showed Newcastle United generated £320m in revenue – a whole £70m more than the year prior.
It included an impressive £40m boost to commercial revenue, led by Chief Commercial Officer Peter Silverstone, while matchday income and broadcast revenue also increased significantly.
However, Newcastle are still financially behind their rivals, with Manchester City breaking revenue north of £700million.
It means Newcastle will have less spending power under the Premier League’s new squad cost ratio system, which limits spending on wages, transfer fees, and agent fees to 85% of a club’s revenue.
Newcastle could slip even further behind, and it is largely due to the PIF.
Newcastle United will be interested in the prize money from the Club World Cup
On Thursday morning, it was announced that the new Club World Cup format will include a $1 billion (£775 million) prize pool.
The prize money will be split among the 32 participating teams, with rewards increasing as the competition progresses.
Manchester City and Chelsea are the two English clubs who will compete in the inaugural Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States this summer from June 14 to July 13.
According to TBR Football, PIF spent £820 million in DAZN, which signed a lucrative deal to broadcast the Club World Cup.
FIFA was struggling to find a TV agreement that would provide a large enough prize pool to entice European giants, but the DAZN arrangement has dramatically increased the £775 million pot.
As a result, Newcastle’s Premier League competitors, who are among the favourites to win the championship, stand to benefit financially from a contract reached by their Saudi Arabian owners.
Newcastle United will target qualifying for the Club World Cup.
Newcastle earned £30 million from their Champions League campaign last year, and Eddie Howe has stated that returning to Europe is a top priority.
However, the Club World Cup’s surprise prize pool announcement will pique the interest of club officials, and qualifying for the international event may suddenly become a priority in Newcastle’s long-term strategy.
Newcastle and PIF will not want to pass up the money on offer, especially as Newcastle aspires to be “best in class” in all departments.
There are presently two ways to qualify for the Club World Cup. Clubs that have won a continental title in the last four years are automatically invited, while others enter through FIFA’s ranking system.
Europe has 12 slots in the Club World Cup competition, so once the continental title winners are picked (this time Manchester City, Chelsea, and Real Madrid), the remaining nine slots are allocated to the highest-ranking Uefa teams.
First and foremost, Newcastle must reestablish itself in Europe.
