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Arabians put off by £481m Magpies tag
Newcastle United, 09:58, September 17, 2008 ,
It is reported that Mike Ashley's £481million asking price for Newcastle will hamper any chance of a quick sale to Dubai investors.
There is some confusion as to the progress being made by the club's under-fire owner in his efforts to sell on the club after admitting to being hounded out by furious supporters following Kevin Keegan's departure almost a fortnight ago.
The Dubai ruling family claim they are not looking to buy another Premier League club following the Abu Dhabi United Group's acquisition of Manchester City. However Arabian business experts have suggested that Ashley is in talks with the Dubai-based group Zabeel Investments.
The group is owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and was part of the consortium that tried to buy Liverpool in 2006. Although Zabeel Investments chairman Mohammed Ali Al Hashimi says he has not been directly approached about a buy out of Newcastle.
He told Arabian Business: "We have not had any contact. I am not interested in any (English Premier League club] right now."
It is also reported that city analysts are questioning whether Ashley's £481million asking price is unrealistic given that he bought the club for £130m 16 months ago and then spent another £100m clearing its debts.
A city source quoted in the Shields Gazette said: "In reality Newcastle have been up for sale for the last six months. If there had been interest from Dubai or Abu Dhabi it would already have surfaced.
"What makes it even more difficult is that Newcastle do not appear as a very saleable asset at the moment - the club has no manager, the fans are protesting and the team are struggling."