Newcastle United players’ agents await overdue payments owed by club

The representatives of several Newcastle United players have been left in the dark after fees the club owed them were not paid on time.

A number of agents should have received commission payments in September and are still waiting, with no explanation as to what is happening or when the issue will be resolved.

Senior squad members who are partly paid via image rights have experienced a similar delay, although Newcastle say they have recently taken steps to resolve this issue.

This is believed to be a financial processing issue at the property level – rather than cash flow or a more serious complication – and has not had an impact on regular salaries.

Although paying agents are often late across the sector, Newcastle’s case is unusually lengthy, particularly as it is a standard contractual obligation.

Image rights are slightly different in that an invoice must be sent and if it does not arrive on time this could result in a delay.

The club says deposits have now been made or are in progress and admits its communication should have been better. There are also camps of players who were not affected or had their situation corrected more quickly than others.

Among those involved, the case has created some confusion as it does not fit with their experience in Newcastle to date and particularly given the wealth of the property.

The club faces unrelated challenges in its continued efforts to progress on and off the pitch, while adhering to the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules.

This seriously influenced their transfer activity after an initial period of heavy investment following the takeover led by Saudi Arabia in 2021.

Additionally, there are no concrete developments yet regarding a new training ground or stadium plans.

“A strange look for the richest football club in the world”

Analysis by George Caulkin

It’s an odd look for the world’s richest football club to say the least. Newcastle were never comfortable with that description to begin with, but now it seems increasingly irrelevant.

Against a backdrop of the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR), Newcastle cannot spend the immense wealth that its majority Saudi owners can draw on; From day one after the takeover, outwitting rather than outspending domestic rivals has been the mantra at St James’ Park.

For a little while, there was a bit of both. Newcastle escaped the clutches of relegation and qualified for the Champions League thanks to a combination of big investment, manager Eddie Howe and smart recruits like Bruno Guimaraes and Sven Botman.

The last year has been more exhausting. On the field, injuries took over off the field, there was the destabilization of the departure of Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Amanda Staveley as co-owner, their battle to comply with the PSR resulted in damaging sales and two transfer windows have now passed without Howe’s first. -team being strengthened.

With wider issues such as the lack of a new training ground and stadium redevelopment still up in the air, it has never been harder to be smarter. Does Newcastle still have the desire and leadership to do it? As Alan Shearer said in Athletics last week, “we really have the impression that the great post-resumption “project” has reached a crossroads. »

Which makes it all the stranger that Newcastle risk alienating both agents and their own players, the very people they must rely on more than ever.

(Matt McNulty/Getty Images)