Newcastle have finalised a £25m-a-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with the leading Saudi Arabian events company Sela. The agreement will provide an early litmus test of the Premier League’s new fair market value commercial regulations.
The “multi-year” contract is a sharp increase on the club’s £6.5m-a-year shirt sponsorship with the Chinese online gambling company Fun88, reflecting the team’s ascent to the top four and, with it, qualification for next season’s Champions League.
Given that Sela is majority-owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which holds an 80% stake in Newcastle, the tie-up will automatically have to be scrutinised by an independent Premier League panel to determine whether it represents true market value.
Had Eddie Howe’s team failed to qualify for the Champions League it could have been a very interesting stress test of the rules but, with Newcastle part of Europe’s showpiece club competition, it is understood it would be a major shock were it not rubber-stamped by the panel.