How the sale of Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia’s PIF transformed the club’s fortunes

DUBAI: For the majority of football fans, Jan. 22, 2021, is unlikely to be a date that sticks in their long-term memory. But for supporters of one club in particular, it is one that is laden with significance.

With just 15 minutes left of Newcastle United’s match against Leeds United at Elland Road, the score was 0-0. A miserable Premier League season looked set to continue for Eddie Howe’s team. 

Then up stepped Jonjo Shelvey to give Newcastle a priceless 1-0 victory. It is no exaggeration to say that the win instantly changed the complexion of the team’s season and with it the club’s trajectory.

Going into their 21st match of the league season, Newcastle United had found themselves with just one previous win, leaving them stuck in the relegation zone.

• Newcastle is a one-club city.

• Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup win was their first trophy in 55 years.

• Newcastle have won Four League titles and six FA Cups.

After the win at Leeds, however, Newcastle would embark on a run that would see them win five of their next six matches, and nine of the next 13. The team cruised to safety and ended the season in a comfortable 11th place.

Howe had conjured a miracle that barely seemed feasible just a few months earlier when he was tasked with turning around the club’s fortunes following their sale by long-time owner Mike Ashley.

On Sunday, as Howe, his team, and chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan celebrated with delirious fans at Wembley after Newcastle defeated Liverpool 2-1 in the Carabao Cup final, those memories from just three years earlier must have seemed like a distant bad dream.

Newcastle had won their first major trophy in 55 years, justifying the faith that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) had shown in