Amanda Staveley: We want Newcastle to be the greatest club in the world

LONDON: Club co-owner Amanda Staveley is certain Newcastle United will establish themselves at world football's top table — but but they will do it at their own pace and not follow the blueprint of other clubs like Manchester City or Paris-Saint-Germain.

The Abu Dhabi-owned City are enjoying a period of relative dominance in English football, having won the Premier League title for the third time in four years last season. To deliver that success, much like Qatar's PSG, the Citizens have outspent every other club in the division.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan is understood to have shelled out in the region of $2 million since taking over in September 2008.

And while cash guarantees success, mostly — and Newcastle United's new majority owners, the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, are not short of that — spending it loosely is not something the Magpies will do, according to Staveley.

Taking questions from Arab News and journalists on the subject at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit, Staveley said: "No. Quite rightly some clubs looked at the related-party issues. I think a lot of people thought we'd have Saudi Aramco, or a Saudi business all over the stadium and that has not happened.

“First of all, St James' belongs to the fans and we will always remember that. We are custodians and we are privileged to be there,” she said. “We have the greatest fans so we want to make sure we do everything that is right for Newcastle. (The) PIF are incredibly aware of their position as custodians. They also want to make sure any sponsorship decisions taken in the future are done with due care and attention.”

“There are very strict related-party rules now,” said Staveley. “I was