There was a special guest in attendance as Newcastle United drew 1-1 with Brighton And Hove Albion on Saturday.
As the Newcastle Untied players prepared to conduct a lap of honour with their families, they were met by the Toon hierarchy.
The British members of the board were all in attendance, as Amanda Staveley, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben all stepped out onto the St James’ Park pitch. And they were joined by PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who is the club’s chairman.
Newcastle United fans rarely see Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Al-Rumayyan is rarely seen on Tyneside, and only seems to visit the region for special occasions – such as the Champions League or the final game of the season.
After the game, Al-Rumayyan held talks with the Newcastle United players on the pitch, speaking to the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak – both of which are being linked with moves away from St James’ Park.
Newcastle United are planning to keep their best players, and have been making plans for the future as the 2023/24 edges towards its conclusion.
What the PIF chief has been doing behind the scenes at Newcastle
Al-Rumayyan was not just in town to see Newcastle United’s final home game of the season.
According to the Athletic, the 54-year-old has actually been holding strategy meetings, as the club continues its quest to grow and challenge the elite.
That is difficult due to financial limitations, and it is extremely frustrating given how deep Al-Rumayyan’s pockets are. He will no doubt be keen to splash the cash, but profit and sustainability rules restrict him from doing so.
Before this trip, his last venture to the North East saw him discuss ways to increase revenue with other Toon officials, and you have to imagine that was on the agenda last week. It continues to be a hot topic of conversation, but one thing Newcastle seemingly will not do to increase revenue is build a new stadium. The current plan is to expand St James’ Park, rather than completely relocate.
Stadium plans were surely a topic of conversation during Al-Rumayyan’s visit, and business normally picks up whenever he is around. Decisions get made quicker, and it will be interesting to see if there are any major developments following this visit.
Transfers will surely have been on the agenda too, as the club prepares to bring in a new sporting director. Dougie Freedman is the favourite, and whoever comes in will need to know how much money they have to spend to enhance Eddie Howe’s squad ahead of next season.
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