Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) are reportedly looking to sell Newcastle United for £1bn, according to broadcaster Richard Keys.
The Magpies were purchased by the Middle Eastern wealth fund for £305m in October 2021, instantly making them one of the wealthiest teams in world football.
However, strict financial regulations have restricted the ownership group’s ability to spend freely, stifling their ambitions to dominate the English game.
A steep asking price
Writing on his personal blog, the veteran sports presenter revealed that interested parties exist, but a significant valuation gap remains.
“Another whisper I picked up recently – and I don’t think this will come as a surprise to anybody – I’m told the Saudis are looking to sell Newcastle.”
“Apparently there are interested parties, but the Saudis want £1b. £500m is nearer the mark.”
Struggles on the pitch
This surprising revelation arrives during a highly turbulent period for the Tyneside outfit.
Manager Eddie Howe is facing increasing scrutiny following a dismal run of results that has left his side sitting 12th in the top flight.
A disappointing recent derby defeat to Sunderland has severely damaged their hopes of securing European qualification for next season.
Furthermore, the club suffered a humiliating 8-3 aggregate elimination at the hands of Barcelona in the Champions League earlier in the campaign.
Uncertain future at St James’ Park
Despite these recent setbacks, the current regime has overseen significant milestones, including two top-four finishes and ending a 70-year trophy drought with a Carabao Cup triumph in 2025.
A sudden departure by the primary financial backers would serve as a monumental blow to the squad’s long-term aspirations.
Unless the current owners are willing to significantly lower their monumental valuation, an imminent handover of power appears highly unlikely.
England have confirmed Swope Soccer Village in Kansas City as their official training base for the 2026 World Cup to minimise travel across the United States.
Thomas Tuchel’s side are preparing for a tournament they hope will end a 60-year wait for a senior men’s international trophy.
The central Missouri location was strategically selected to provide easy access to their three upcoming group fixtures.
Strategic central location
The Three Lions will play their opening matches in Dallas, Boston and New York-New Jersey.
Reducing transit time is considered a vital component for success in a vast tournament co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Defending champions Argentina, alongside the Netherlands and Algeria, will also base their respective squads in the Midwestern city.
A city with rich sporting pedigree
Known widely as the home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, the region has also heavily invested in its football infrastructure over recent decades.
Local mayor Quinton Lucas described hosting the 1966 world champions as a landmark occasion for the community.
“I’m thrilled to host England,” Lucas said.
“I have been to England a few times, so I’ve gotten to know the passion of English fans, but I think I’ll learn a lot more in this engagement.”
Historic training grounds
Swope Park possesses deep roots within American sporting lore.
It originally served as the inaugural practice facility for the city’s celebrated American football franchise before transitioning into a dedicated football centre.
Authorities upgraded the pitches significantly 15 years ago to accommodate both visiting professional sides and domestic youth development.
“The choice of Swope was an inspired one for a few different reasons,” Lucas added.
“Some of it was to ensure we had great training grounds for visiting teams, but it was also to ensure that we had great practice facilities for youth soccer in the United States.”
England midfielder Phil Foden has vowed to fight for his place at Manchester City after falling down the pecking order under manager Pep Guardiola in 2026.
The 25-year-old has endured a frustrating period of reduced playing time and has not completed a full 90 minutes since a Premier League draw against Chelsea on 4 January.
Despite a blistering start to the campaign where he scored eight goals in nine games across November and December, the playmaker has started just eight of City’s past 20 fixtures.
His most recent appearance was restricted to a late cameo from the substitutes’ bench during Sunday’s Carabao Cup victory over Arsenal.
Determined to rediscover peak form
The academy graduate remains philosophical about his current situation and is focused on regaining the trust of his Catalan manager.
“Football sometimes is not straightforward,” Foden stated.
“There are ups and downs and sometimes you can’t be the best version of yourself and that’s the way it is.”
Rather than expressing frustration, the versatile attacker intends to use the upcoming international break as a springboard to sharpen his match fitness.
“It’s just about how you pick yourself back up,” he added.
“I’m still keeping my head down, trying to train as well as I can every day and hopefully I come back after the internationals a lot sharper to get more minutes.”
Focus shifts to World Cup ambitions
His immediate attention now turns to international duty after being named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
Securing regular club football will be vital for his aspirations of making the final cut for the upcoming World Cup tournament this summer.
“Every time you get selected for your country, it’s the biggest thing you can feel as a football player,” he said.
The reigning Premier League champion currently boasts 47 caps and four goals for the Three Lions.
He will be hoping to add to that tally in the coming days to remind his club manager of his undeniable quality.
Former Real Madrid and Spain defender Sergio Ramos is reportedly fronting a €450m takeover bid for his boyhood club Sevilla as the struggling Spanish giants search for their 15th manager in a decade amid a tense La Liga relegation battle.
The Andalusian side currently sit just three points above the drop zone with only nine league matches remaining.
Such a perilous league position has plunged the seven-time Europa League winners into genuine danger of a first relegation in a quarter of a century.
Managerial carousel continues
Current bookmaker favourite Luis Garcia Plaza is the leading candidate to inherit the dugout at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Whoever takes the helm will face a monumental task to unite a fractured fanbase and secure top-flight survival.
Meanwhile, intense speculation surrounds the club’s ownership structure as off-pitch dysfunction exacerbates their severe on-pitch struggles.
Prodigal son plots return
The 38-year-old World Cup winner is not in the running for the vacant managerial role, but is instead part of a heavily-backed consortium aiming to buy control of the institution.
Financial backers have supposedly armed the former Paris St-Germain centre-back with a massive war chest to steady the rapidly sinking ship.
His relationship with the radical Biri Biri ultras remains complicated following an acrimonious departure to the Spanish capital early in his career.
However, passionate supporters are reportedly growing desperate enough to welcome back their academy product if it means ending years of administrative incompetence.
Stark contrast with local rivals
The institutional crisis is felt even more acutely across the city following recent Copa del Rey success for bitter rivals Real Betis.
While the green-and-white half of the city celebrates, the red-and-white establishment must now desperately fight to protect their proud top-flight status.
The Football Supporters Europe (FSE) network has filed a formal complaint to the European Commission against Fifa over excessive ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup.
The fan organisation accuses world football’s governing body of abusing a monopoly position to impose unfair purchasing conditions ahead of the upcoming tournament.
The highly anticipated global competition, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, is scheduled to begin on 11 June.
Despite widespread public criticism, organisers only recently introduced a scarce number of more affordable £45 tickets across the 104 planned matches.
Calls to abandon dynamic pricing
Campaigners are demanding an immediate halt to dynamic pricing models that fluctuate wildly based on intense fan demand.
The European coalition has urged officials to freeze costs entirely before the next major release of seats in April.
Further demands include improved transparency, requiring a minimum 48-hour public notice regarding category availability and exact stadium locations.
“Fifa holds a monopoly over ticket sales for the 2026 World Cup and has used that power to impose conditions on fans that would never be acceptable in a competitive market.”
Bait advertising accusations
The formal grievance outlines six specific alleged abuses of power under strict European Union consumer law.
One major accusation involves illegal bait advertising, claiming the highly publicised cheaper seats are virtually impossible to secure.
Only around 400 bottom-tier tickets have been allocated for the respective group stage fixtures involving England and Scotland.
“Fifa point to their unconfirmed sales figures as validation of their unfair ticket practices, while the reality is they leave loyal fans with no other choice – pay up or lose out.”
FSE director Ronan Evain stated that campaigners had no alternative but to approach regulators following a complete failure by administrators to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Soaring tournament costs
Almost seven million seats have theoretically been made available for the expanded North American sporting spectacle.
However, the financial burden on travelling supporters has increased astronomically compared to previous international editions.
A single dedicated follower attending one match in every round of the upcoming competition would pay approximately £5,225 in the lowest price bracket.
By contrast, a similar seven-game journey at the 2022 tournament in Qatar cost just £1,466 for equivalent stadium access.
BBC Sport has contacted the international sporting federation for official comment regarding the ongoing allegations.
Real Madrid and France striker Kylian Mbappe has confirmed his troublesome left knee is completely healed ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
The forward recently returned to action as a substitute for his club and has now joined his national team-mates for two friendlies in the United States.
Speaking to the French media at a promotional event, the prolific attacker reflected on a challenging rehabilitation period.
Frustration and anxiety
The lethal finisher suffered a knee sprain late last year but initially played through the pain before being sidelined for three-and-a-half weeks.
“There was a lot of frustration, a lot of anger, and then also some anxiety at one point,” he admitted.
“I had reached a stage where I didn’t know what was wrong with me.”
Despite the mental toll, the French World Cup winner expressed immense relief that the issue is finally resolved.
“I’m happy now because it’s truly behind me,” he said.
Dismissing baseless speculation
During his absence, rumours circulated that the recent Bernabeu arrival might require surgery or even miss the World Cup entirely.
He strongly criticised these claims, noting that even he did not have a definitive diagnosis until recently.
“I heard a lot of things – surgery, that I might not play again, that I wouldn’t be able to play in the World Cup. It was all completely baseless.”
Instead, the former Paris St-Germain star, who famously scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final, adopted a highly cautious approach to avoid any muscular relapses.
Looking ahead to international duty
Even with the frustrating layoff, he boasts an exceptional return of 38 goals in 35 matches across all competitions this season.
Real Madrid have thrived in his absence, sitting second in La Liga and preparing for a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Now, the focus shifts to international duty as Les Bleus intensify their preparations for the tournament co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.
France will face Brazil in Foxborough on Thursday before taking on Colombia in Landover on 29 March.
Manchester United have confirmed their proposed £2billion stadium development will be privately financed, ending speculation over potential taxpayer contributions.
The Premier League club intend to build a state-of-the-art, 100,000-capacity venue to replace the ageing Old Trafford.
Dubbed the ‘Wembley of the North’, the ambitious project was initially floated by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe with suggestions that public funding could assist the build.
However, a spokesperson for the 20-time English champions told a recent fans’ forum that positive conversations are ongoing with potential private investors.
Infrastructure support remains a priority
While the Red Devils will foot the bill for the stadium itself, they continue to seek government assistance for surrounding transport links.
Collette Roche, the newly appointed chief executive officer for stadium development, emphasised the need for external help to ensure the site is accessible.
“There is no point building the biggest or the best stadium in the UK and it being on an island and you can’t get to it because the transport links aren’t there.”
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham previously clarified that public money would not be granted directly for the construction of the venue.
Mounting debts and land hurdles
Taking on the massive construction costs privately could further inflate the existing financial burden at the club.
Financial figures released in February revealed that the Manchester outfit’s debt is already approaching the £1.3bn mark.
The development also faces logistical challenges, including stalled negotiations to purchase a crucial rail yard adjacent to the current ground.
That land is owned by freight operator Freightliner, with the quoted asking price reportedly presenting a major obstacle to the expansion.
Euro 2028 snub highlights decline
The pressing need for modernisation comes after two decades of perceived neglect at the historic site.
Despite hosting the Champions League final in 2003, the venue was notoriously omitted from the UK and Ireland’s successful Euro 2028 bid.
Instead, cross-city rivals Manchester City will see their Etihad Stadium utilised for the tournament.
Former club captain Gary Neville described that particular venue snub as an all-time low for the organisation.
French club Lens have released a firm statement refusing to reschedule their upcoming Ligue 1 match against Paris Saint-Germain, which falls between the two legs of a crucial Champions League quarter-final against Liverpool.
The domestic fixture is currently slated for 11 April.
That date falls just three days after the first leg of the European tie in the French capital, and less than a week before the decisive return match at Anfield on 14 April.
Reports indicated that the reigning league champions had formally petitioned the Ligue de Football Professionnel to postpone the game to ease their fixture congestion.
Protecting domestic sporting integrity
The northern French outfit have publicly pushed back against the proposal, expressing frustration at the mounting pressure to accommodate European ambitions.
“On March 6, the scheduling of the match pitting Racing Club de Lens against Paris Saint-Germain was finalised, formalising a framework to which everyone was then invited to adhere.”
The club added that altering the calendar would severely disrupt their own rhythm by leaving them without a competitive game for 15 days.
“It does indeed appear to us that a troubling sentiment is taking hold: that of a French championship gradually relegated to the status of an adjustment variable at the whim of the European imperatives of some.”
A successful rescheduling would have forced the home side into an unsustainable run of playing every three days later in the spring.
Liverpool aim to salvage campaign
Arne Slot’s team will be monitoring the scheduling dispute closely as they prepare for a demanding trip across the Channel.
The Merseyside club reached the last eight following a commanding 4-1 aggregate victory over Galatasaray in the previous round.
This upcoming quarter-final provides an immediate opportunity for revenge, as the Parisian giants eliminated the Reds at the last-16 stage of last year’s competition.
While their opponents battle the governing body over domestic scheduling, the English side have their own commitments to manage with a Premier League fixture against Fulham set for the same day.
Success on the continent remains absolutely vital for the Anfield club as they look to rescue what has been a disappointing domestic season.