Ashley admits he ‘owed it’ to Newcastle fans to accept lower offer

Mike Ashley claims he “received a higher offer” for Newcastle United but felt he “owed it” to the fans to accept the offer from the Saudi-led consortium.

Ashley bought the Magpies for £134.4million in 2007 and spent much of the time since trying to sell it.

Finally on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) completed their takeover of the club as they look to bring trophies and success to Newcastle.

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PIF has taken an 80 per cent stake in the club with Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media handing over £305million in exchange for the keys.

And Ashley wants Newcastle fans to know that he sold the club to PIF despite receiving a higher bid from a “reputable bidder”.

Ashley told The Sun: “I would like it to be known that I received a higher offer for the club than the one that I accepted. It was from another reputable bidder, who made a credible case.

“But I felt the bid that we accepted from the current new owners would deliver the best for Newcastle United. Money wasn’t my only consideration. There were times when I stepped in financially to keep Newcastle United afloat.

“We ensured the wage bills were paid when we went down in order that we could bounce straight back up. Nobody was happier than me when we achieved immediate promotion.”

Ashley admits he couldn’t compete with other wealthy owners in the Premier League during his time at Newcastle, while he has fought “tooth and nail” to make a deal happen.

He added: “Although I am a wealthy individual, I’m not in the same financial league as a consortium that has sovereign wealth fund backing. It’s hard to compete at the highest level in football with certain clubs that have almost unlimited resources.

“I’ve known for some time now that many Newcastle fans were frustrated by the situation and were in favour of a change. I therefore felt that I owed it to the fans to fight tooth and nail over the last 18 months or so to make this happen.”