Bin Salman would have asked Johnson to intervene in the Newcastle case to “not spoil the relations.”

Although almost a year has passed since the purchase Newcastle Led by the Saudi coalition Public Investment Fund (And indirectly by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman), The question in England does not appear to be closed at all, and periodically new details emerge from one of the most discussed negotiations in recent years. Also, because the Premier League’s refusal to accept the handover of the Al-Aqaq family from the current owner to the Saudi Fund never went to the Bin Salman government, which tried in every way to complete the process.

We have already talked about the reasons for not buying in the past (for example, here) and more than the issues related to the protection of human rights, problems with television rights have arisen: Qatar TV Be in sports, Which also holds the television rights to the English Premier League in Saudi Arabia, He was firmly against buying the Bianconeri This is mainly due to the alleged link between the government and the online hacking service BeoutQ, A platform that has long allowed illegal access to various sporting events, including the Premier League, Wimbledon and Six Nations matches.

According to an investigation he conducted daily Mail As reported by other British newspapers, Even Mohammed bin Salman would have addressed Prime Minister Boris Johnson Last June 27th, by sending a very clear written message: le Relations between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia could take a toll If the British government fails to intervene. “To correctThe “wrong” decision of the Premier League – Johnson at that point was responsible Edward Lister, Gulf Special Correspondent, to take over, as was also told to the Mail: The Saudis were upset. We are not pressuring to buy on their behalf. We wanted the Premier League to be straightforward and say “yes” or “no”, without leaving the Saudis in limbo. “

As I mentioned before guardianIn fact, the Johnson government has always shown a certain thing Appreciation To show, but did not have the necessary powers to overtake the Premier League. The Prime Minister himself, in the face of the dissatisfaction of Juventus fans at the failure to sell, sent a letter to the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, showing his sympathy to the fans and asking the Premier League to submit an advertisement to justify the non-purchase. This was actually published shortly after by the Premier League. On the government side, at the moment, they deny any involvement in the deal, stating that it is a purely commercial matter. But these rumors are another confirmation of the weight of the Newcastle issue, even at the political level, for Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi coalition.