We don’t often see football and golf compared to one another, but Rory McIlroy has suggested his beloved sport take a leaf out of Newcastle United’s book.
Of course, golf does have one very specific and obvious link to Newcastle, with PIF owning the Magpies and investing heavily in the LIV Golf league.
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That has been a highly divisive venture for the Newcastle United owners, with many claiming the breakaway league has fractured the world of golf irreparably.
On the flipside, PIF have achieved success at Newcastle and the current regime is well regarded by fans on Tyneside. So, what have they got so right in football that golf needs to learn from?
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty ImagesWhat Rory McIlroy said about Newcastle United
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Rory McIlroy cited the financial restrictions and relative frugality of PIF at Newcastle as a key factor in how much of a stable and positive project they have built there.
He said: “I think about this, they’ve spent billions on LIV, the PIF and Saudis, and then I look at what they’ve done with Newcastle, for example.
“This is the other thing I’ve thought about. There’s financial regulations around football, right? So it’s not as if they can just go out and spend 5 billion, but in golf, they could.
“I just think what they’ve done in Newcastle, and I would say they’ve done a great job from where Newcastle were to where they are now. I think if they had just approached the golf in a similar way, we wouldn’t be at this point.”
PIF have spent a lot of money trying to make LIV Golf succeed, and yet the breakaway tour is still way behind the popularity of the original PGA Tour, while also causing rifts between players and fans in the sport.
While Newcastle fans may be frustrated by the limitations on PIF’s spending power, it has clearly helped to form a more stable footing for the club. Ask most golf fans and they’ll probably tell you they wished LIV had followed that example.
Newcastle United’s spending power ahead of the January transfer window. Do you expect PIF to actually make a signing?
Premier League PSR isn’t an immediate concern for Newcastle in January. With UEFA’s equivalent rules, they should be absolutely fine too. If they thought there was good value in the market and wanted to spend £100m-plus, they could do.
Football finance expert Adam Williams, speaking to Geordie Boot Boys.
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PIF’s spending power at Newcastle United
In the immediate future, we know that PIF are ready to spend up to £100m in January. However, that is very much an anomaly, with the restrictions of PSR more often than not stopping PIF from unleashing their huge wealth how they may have hoped.
PIF have ambitions of breaking into the Big Six in England, and they certainly have the money to do so. The only problem is Newcastle’s income and revenue is not high enough to allow them to spend it all.
Things are heading in the right direction, though. Newcastle have more PSR headroom than ever right now and that should only keep improving when the new Squad Cost Ratio system comes into play.
With new stadium and training ground plans in the works, as well as a plot to turn the Newcastle academy into a profit centre of sorts, the club should continue to evolve and close the gap on the biggest teams in the league.
Indeed, CEO David Hopkinson wants Newcastle to be one of Europe’s elite clubs by 2030. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but all signs point to the Magpies pushing towards a glorious new era under PIF.
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