- A shareholders’ meeting was held at a five-star hotel in London on Tuesday
- Premier League clubs narrowly voted against ban on ‘related party loans’
- It’s the world against Everton – it could encourage the players to stay up – IAKO
The seven Premier League clubs that blocked the ban on signing players from sister teams have been revealed.
Premier League teams voted against a temporary ban on incoming loan deals between clubs with the same owners, following crucial talks at a shareholders meeting on Tuesday.
The accelerated ban proposal was not supported by the fourteen top members needed to implement the change. They missed only one vote after a 13-7 vote was cast.
It means players like Newcastle will be free to trade with PIF-backed teams from Saudi Arabia.
According to The timesSaudi Arabia’s Sheffield United and Abu Dhabi-owned Manchester City were two of seven clubs to vote against the ban on loans to related parties.
Premier League clubs have not voted in favor of a temporary freeze on related party loans (above – Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley leaves The Churchill Hotel on Tuesday)
Manchester City is believed to be one of the teams that voted against the temporary loan ban
The vote means Newcastle can borrow stars from the Saudi Pro League, despite Newcastle’s owners also owning four SPL clubs: Al-Hilal, Al-Ahli, Al-Nassr and Al-Ittihad
West Ham vice-chairman Karen Brady after the vote to ban ‘related party loans’ failed by one vote
The newspaper claims the other five teams were: Chelsea, Newcastle, Wolves, Everton and Nottingham Forest. The majority of the seven teams are part of multi-club empires.
Clubs often use others in their network to loan players out to gain experience, and many did not want to risk this avenue being closed.
For Newcastle, this means they can still agree a lease deal with PIF-owned Saudi teams, who have an 80 percent stake in St James’ Park.
With Sandro Tonali handed a £52m ban until August for illegal gambling, players such as Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves were discussed as options.
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Eddie Howe’s side have been linked with a move for Al-Hilal and former Wolves star Ruben Neves
The remaining thirteen clubs were reportedly very angry about Sheffield United’s vote against the ban
Everton’s 10-point penalty was also discussed, with Sean Dyche’s men now in the bottom three
Others such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sadio Mane and Aymeric Laporte also play for PIF-owned teams.
According to a club chief, representatives from some of the remaining thirteen clubs were furious that newly promoted club Sheffield United had voted against the ban. The Blades are owned by Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud.
The proposal to avoid loan deals was initially put forward at the end of last season, after Newcastle’s Saudi PIF owners took control of the four leading clubs in the Saudi Pro League – Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al- Hilal, and Al-Ahli.
Everton’s shock 10-point deduction for breaching Premier League financial rules and the 115 FFP charges faced by Manchester City were also popular topics during Tuesday’s crunch talks in London.