City and Newcastle could have to change owners: goodbye to the clubs that have been in the Premier League?

A bill has been made to add a ban on state clubs in the Premier League

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A Labour politician has proposed a bill to overhaul English football reform and add a ban on state clubs in the Premier League, which would force Manchester City and Newcastle United to change ownership.

The Sky Blues are owned by the United Arab Emirates, while Newcastle United is owned by the Saudi Investment Fund (PIF), so if the deal goes ahead, both would have to change ownership.

To do so, the Labour Party member would need to secure the support of a majority of MPs in the House of Lords and the approval of the British government itself. According to the British newspaper ‘The Times, the probability of this is low, but it points out that several Premier League clubs have insisted on the introduction of this rule.

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“No state club should be granted an operating license and any affected club must comply with the reforms in the new law,” said Lord Bassam, the politician in question, in his proposed bill.

The chances of this going ahead are also small because it would also mean interfering in trade relations between the United Kingdom and the aforementioned countries, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, something that the reform also seeks to amend, by applying the independent regulator does not have to take into account the United Kingdom’s trade policies when making decisions.

The UAE’s acquisition of City in 2008 was a huge success, taking the Sky Blues from a lower-midtable side to eight Premier League and Champions League winners, numerous other trophies, and one of the most valuable clubs in the world.

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In the case of Newcastle, which has been in the hands of Saudi Arabia since the end of 2021, the ‘Magpies’ have gone from fighting relegation to qualifying for the Champions League in 2023 and playing in a League Cup final that same year.

The reform of English football is a law that is already in the process of being approved by the British Parliament and that came to light following the incidents experienced in the spring of 2021 with the creation of the European Super League.

One of the reform proposals is the creation of an independent regulator to oversee club owners financially, among other things, and to grant them licenses to participate in competitions. If the Labour proposal goes ahead, state-owned clubs such as City and Newcastle will not be granted such a license and therefore will not be able to compete.