Newcastle United has been the subject to multiple takeover attempts for the Premier League team but this latest report sure is something.
At a UK media event, Floyd Mayweather revealed his interest in buying Newcastle United, who are currently 13th in the Premier League. According to TMZ, the exchange went something like this:
“You’re very, very interested in buying Newcastle United,” the moderator asked Floyd.
“In the U.S. we call it soccer, but the Newcastle football team is an unbelievable team,” Floyd said … “a hell of a team.” He then smiled and told the crowd, “If the people want me to buy the Newcastle team, let me know!”
Cheers erupted. Floyd smiled.
Despite Mayweather’s public acknowledgement he’s interested, his reps said that while his interest in buying a stake is genuine, “no official negotiations have taken place.” So even if Newcastle is somewhat receptive to the possibility, it’s going to be a while before seeing the boxer in the owner’s box (if that ever happens).
This is just the latest in people wanting to buy Newcastle. Fans have wanted someone else to take over the team as current owner Mike Ashley has a reputation for a lack of spending and is holding them back. English businesswoman Amanda Staveley attempted to buy the team in 2017 but was unsuccessful. It’s recently reported that Staveley is coming back with the support of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman for another attempt to buy the team.
Given that Newcastle hasn’t really tasted on-field success in a long time, the team typically sees attendance figures similar to the big English teams so the fanbase is definitely there. With the lack of on-field success, potential owners see Newcastle as a relative bargain and with a few changes, they can bridge the gap to the top teams and increase the team’s net worth. It remains to be seen if any of this happens because the one guy who needs to sell to make it happen doesn’t seem very interested in selling.
[TMZ]
