S B C R A C I N G B O O K M A K E R O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 2 0 • F I T Z D A R E S. C O M • S E V E N T E E N T H E D I T I O N, C H R I S T M A S 2 0 2 2 • N O U N D E R 2 1 s
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BY CORNELIUS LYSAGHT
BY JOHN INVERDALE
BY STUART BARNES
BY JOE HODGSON
SALES PITCH
England’s two biggest football clubs are conveniently hitting the market just as the World Cup in Qatar stimulates Middle East interest in the game, says our man in the Gulf Mark Pougatch
I
F YOU WERE TO MAKE A LIST of the most overused terms during the Qatar World Cup, then up there with “false nine” and “low block” would be “sportswashing” and “soft power”. There’s little doubt that Qatar’s desire to host the most watched global sporting event was as much about spreading its influence – and, by association that of the whole region – as it was about staging a football tournament. Qatar’s stunning, illuminated skyline is throbbing on a nightly basis with dinners and deals, and it’s not a coincidence Liverpool have entered talks with Saudi
Arabian and Qatari consortiums over a potential £3 billion deal now that the Fenway Sports Group have announced they’re intending to sell, at the very least, a stake at Anfield. Indeed, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the competition from both Liverpool and Manchester United to entice bids from the Middle East isn’t as fiercely contested as anything in the latter stages of the World Cup. Fenway’s signalling that they are prepared to sell part or all of Liverpool has clearly spooked Manchester United’s Glazer brothers into action, and they now
seem to be rushing to the table before all the food has gone. You don’t become very successful businessmen by missing out on the best price. Newcastle United are already there, of course, after they were taken over by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) among others. The Saudis have been looking to diversify their revenue streams away from
The £300 million price tag for Newcastle may well turn out to be a bargain.
oil, which they know won’t last for ever, and sport has an obvious outlet for that – witness the Formula One and boxing as well as the football. Given the figures being quoted for Liverpool and Manchester United, the £300 million price tag for Newcastle may turn out to be a bargain. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe has resisted the urge to dash around the supermarket with his new, gofaster trolley and is incrementally building up his squad. It’s not impossible they will finish in the top four this season at all, but what’s clear is that, given the moniker of →