Be amazed: even Benjamin Netanyahu has a connection to Newcastle’s upheavals
The war with Iran, the Saudi crisis, Premier League restrictions, and the sale of stars came together for a particularly turbulent summer in England’s north-east. Matthias Jaissle takes over for Eddie Howe, with a mission that is almost impossible.
It seems that the biggest dramas of the English summer are taking place in the north-east of the country, and it may be that even Benjamin Netanyahu has an indirect connection to this. The war with Iran has changed Saudi Arabia’s approach to its projects in the world of sport quite a bit.
Among other things, the Saudis ended their ties with the world golf tour they created and funded, LIV. At the same time, against the backdrop of a cash crisis that began even before the war with Iran intensified the justified concerns about long-term damage to revenues from oil sales, they are also reconsidering their steps as owners of a club in the richest football league in the world.
This is apparently the main reason why Newcastle is undergoing significant rebuilding of its squad during the summer 2026 transfer window. Sandro Tonali was transferred to Tottenham for a reported sum of about £93 million, plus bonuses, and Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona for a sum reported to be between £70 million and £80 million. Bruno Guimarães is also expected to be sold.
The main reason Newcastle was forced to sell key players, even though it is supported by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF), comes down to rules and regulations resembling the Premier League’s financial fair play, which directly link spending to revenue. Added to this is the Saudi desire to “do things the right way.”
When PIF bought Newcastle, the club’s commercial revenues lagged significantly behind those of the “big six” clubs. Even though revenues rose from about £180 million to about £330 million per year, they still do not match those of the rivals. Unlike Manchester City, which faces 115 charges of circumventing financial fair play rules, Saudi Newcastle has been under the regulators’ magnifying glass from the very first moment. Sponsorships were required to remain within “fair market value,” preventing the injection of billions through inflated deals.
Now, three weeks before the start of the new season, manager Eddie Howe is leaving the “Magpies” after nearly five years on the touchline—a period in which he became one of the biggest managers in the club’s history, leading the team to the Champions League twice and giving it its first title since 1969.
In fact, his departure was expected. Howe, effectively acting as sporting director, faced an exhausting summer and the sale of key players. Reports suggest he was ready to leave after the 3:2 loss to Brentford in February. Additionally, claims emerged that he had not fully recovered from pneumonia in 2025, leaving him without the stamina for another difficult season.
New sporting director Ross Wilson led the summer recruitment, bringing in Evan Joann, Aladji Bamba, Sean Steer, and Bazumana Toure for a total of £111 million. However, these new players have yet to prove themselves, and a 4:1 loss to Bristol City in a pre-season friendly ultimately convinced Howe to step down.
The club’s management quickly appointed a replacement: 38-year-old German coach Matthias Jaissle, formerly of Al-Ahli. A product of the Red Bull system, Jaissle is known for his ability to develop young talent. He now faces the challenge of replicating Howe’s achievements in today’s complex economic and geopolitical reality.
