Newcastle United’s chairman was in attendance for the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday
Paul Mitchell has revealed the Public Investment Fund are as “enthused as ever” to make Newcastle United successful.
A drop-off last season combined with underwhelming transfer activity led some to speculate whether PIF - Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund that owns an 85 per cent stake in the Magpies - had grown tired. Further investments in boxing, F1, MMA and snooker place Newcastle in a crowded sporting portfolio.
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PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan, also Newcastle’s chairman, was in attendance for the 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Sporting director Mitchell revealed the Saudi chief rallied the Toon boardroom on Sunday.
"We spent pre-match together in the chairman's lounge chatting about loads of different things, getting to know each other personally,” he told a room of reporters. “We watched the game together and, after the game, we had a good catch-up, a bit more formally just in terms of the vision and the plan. He's super ambitious.”
"I have a few more grey hairs because of the level of ambition that we actually have. He is as ambitious and enthused as ever. I only know from my interaction - I can't speak for anyone else - but he's super ambitious and he wants us to perform at the number one level.
“He wants us to perform not only through the money we spend - he wants us to be best in class across everything we do, whether that be youth development, the women's team, scouting and recruitment, data and insight, coaching, innovation.
“He wants our position to be at the top, but to be there for the reasons that people admire as a really well-oiled, well-executed machine of a football operation. That for me came across in his message."
Mitchell insisted Al-Rumayyan is aware of FFP/PSR restrictions hampering Newcastle’s ability in the transfer market. He added: "He's (Al-Rumayyan) a smart man. He's a very smart man. I think he can see that the club is growing, but he's smart enough to know it's moved very quickly over a very short period of time. He knows infrastructure is important.
“He knows people's IPs are important. He knows a higher overarching framework and strategy is crucial to get to where we want to get to. Using terminology like that shows there's a plan and patience. You have got to then deliver and execute across that plan and timescale, but he's a very intelligent owner with what I received on Sunday when we spoke."