Leaked WhatsApp messages reveal Ant and Dec's embroilment in Saudi-led Newcastle United takeover
21 October 2024, 15:30
Leaked WhatsApp messages have revealed how Ant and Dec became embroiled in the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United, according to reports.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Amanda Staveley, who brokered the purchase of the club, enlisted the help of the Geordie presenters, whose full names are Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly, to share an article on social media supporting the stalling deal.
The Premier League had expressed concerns in October 2020 about the consortium that wanted to buy the club from its then owner Mike Ashley.
Ms Staveley told the club’s sellers that the TV duo would “push” a link to a newspaper story she felt would help her cause and within minutes their official social media account posted the article, The Telegraph reported.
Most of the money for the deal was coming from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is a sovereign wealth fund that claimed to be autonomous of the Saudi state.
However the Premier League initially had concerns that the true owner would be the Saudi state, which went against ownership rules.
Leaked WhatsApp messages show that on 27 October, 2020, Ashley’s camp asked Ms Staveley to promote a news report on her social media.
The story was from the Tyneside newspaper the Shields Gazette about the Premier League being served a legal letter demanding anti-competition disclosure.
The newspaper’s website reported that a fans’ group had written to the Premier League claiming that its decision to block the takeover was against UK anti-competition law.
At 11.11am that day Ms Staveley sent a reply to Mr Ashley’s team saying: “Will do. Ant and Dec will push it too.”
Four minutes later, at 11.15am, the official Twitter account of the I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! presenters tweeted a link to the article.
Two days later the account posted a link to another Shields Gazette story, commenting: “Interesting Q&A on the legal developments at #nufc.”
It took almost another year for the takeover to happen, after the Premier League dropped its objections following reassurances that PIF was separate from the Saudi government.
Mr McPartlin and Mr Donnelly are yet to comment.
