Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle United Vote Against Banning Loan Deals Between Related Clubs
Premier League clubs, including Chelsea, Manchester City, and Newcastle United, voted against banning loan transfers between clubs with shared owners. The vote resulted in a 13-7 split in favor of the ban, but 14 votes were required for it to pass. As a result, the ban will not be implemented before the January transfer window, allowing Newcastle to sign players from Saudi Pro League clubs that their owners, the Public Investment Fund, have majority stakes in.
According to The Times, the seven clubs that voted against the ban were Newcastle, Chelsea, City, Sheffield United, Everton, Wolves, and Nottingham Forest. All of these clubs, except Wolves, are part of multi-club ownership models and will continue to sign players from affiliated clubs.
Multi-Club Ownership Models
Chelsea’s owners BlueCo acquired French side Strasbourg in June, while Evangelos Marinakis owns both Nottingham Forest and Greek giants Olympiakos. Manchester City is the flagship team in the City Football Group, which has stakes in many clubs worldwide. Sheffield United’s owner, Saudi prince Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud, also has ownership stakes in multiple clubs.
777 Partners, who are set to takeover Everton, own clubs like Genoa and Standard Liege. It is reported that some of the clubs in favor of the ban are upset with Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud’s vote against it, possibly due to his connection to Saudi Arabia and the PIF.
Concerns over Sporting Integrity
The attempt to fast track the ban stems from concerns over the sporting integrity of multi-club ownerships. There are worries that clubs like Newcastle could exploit their connections to sign top-quality players more easily and at lower costs. Ruben Neves, for example, has been linked with a move to St. James’ Park just months after leaving Wolves for Al-Hilal.
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