Newcastle United have confirmed that co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi have left the club after three years at St James’ Park.
Staveley, 51, played a key role in orchestrating the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) purchase of an 80% stake in Newcastle for £300 million (now $379 million) in 2021, helping to end Mike Ashley’s 14-year ownership of the club.
As part of that deal, it acquired a 10 percent stake in Newcastle, having made three failed attempts to buy the club from Ashley in 2017. The Reuben family also bought a 10 percent stake. The Premier League faced criticism for approving the Saudi-backed takeover, including from Amnesty International, which called it “an extremely bitter blow to human rights defenders”.
The departures of Staveley and Ghodoussi see PIF and RB Sports & Media increase their stakes in the club. From July 2024, PIF will control around 85 per cent of Newcastle and RB Sports & Media will own the remaining 15 per cent.
Staveley said it was an “honour” to be part of the club and that they were “extremely proud of the progress” made under her tenure. “Our ambition has always been aligned with the brilliant fans of this club,” she said. “To create consistently successful teams that regularly compete for major trophies and generate pride around the world.”
Staveley and his co-owners completed their takeover with Newcastle 19th in the Premier League table and with the financier predicting they could win the title within five to ten years. They sacked Steve Bruce as manager five weeks later and subsequently appointed Eddie Howe, who guided the club to safety in 2021-22.
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After years of underinvestment, Newcastle spent around £92m in the first transfer window following the takeover, more than any other club in Europe, with Staveley and Ghodoussi instrumental in bringing in top-class players such as Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes.
Ghodoussi and Staveley (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
In their first full season as owners, Newcastle finished fourth in the Premier League in 2022–23 to secure the Champions League for the first time since 2003. They also reached the League Cup final, eventually losing to Manchester United.
Last season, which was hampered by injuries and Sandro Tonali’s 10-month ban for betting offences, they finished seventh, narrowly missing out on a return to European competition.
His tenure has had several highlights, from breaking his transfer record by signing Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad for £60m two years ago and spending £10m on improving Newcastle’s training ground, to a remarkable 4-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Newcastle’s women’s team was a passion project for Staveley and was brought under the club’s umbrella for the first time in its history. They became full-time professionals last season and have secured back-to-back promotions to the FA Women’s Championship.
After being stripped back under Ashley, Newcastle now have a more complete corporate structure, with Darren Eales in place as chief executive and Paul Mitchell recently replacing Dan Ashworth as sporting director. All parties have reluctantly concluded that the time is right for Staveley and Ghodoussi to step back and sell their shares and for the club to move on.
An update from Companies House earlier this year showed Staveley’s stake had been diluted to six per cent, with the Reuben family’s shares increasing.
In March, questions were raised over Staveley’s future at the club after Companies House records showed she had resigned as a director of 20 Newcastle-related companies. However, she quickly moved to allay any doubts about her role at the club.
“The changes made… were purely administrative, to non-commercial subsidiaries,” she wrote on Instagram. “Following the acquisition, Jamie (Reuben) and I took over as directors of all companies until we could build an executive team. We remained at top-co and on the board.”
Staveley was featured in the We Are Newcastle United Amazon documentary last August and recently helped secure a deal between golf’s PGA Tour and the Saudi-funded LIV Tour. She is expected to continue working with the PIF and remain involved in football.
She also helped broker the £210 million sale of Manchester City in 2008 to Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi.
(Stu Forster/Getty Images)
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