OPINION
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley scuppered a deal to sell the club to Manchester City’s current owners after he set off a disturbance in a Dubai bar, according to former vice-president Tony Jimenez.
As reported by Sky Sports, Jimenez made the claims during the latest developments in a court case between himself and Ashley, who is suing him for £3million for fraud and forgery.
Jimenez’s lawyer is said to have claimed that the bar disturbance on the 16th of September 2008 meant the potential sale that was lined up was ruined.
It is strange to think that Ashley could well have walked away from the club so long ago, and it makes you wonder where the club would be now should that have happened.
Considering the success of Manchester City since their takeover around that time, you would think that the Magpies would have seen a similar renaissance at the top end of the Premier League.
Instead, they have been languishing in the Championship and the lower top-flight under Ashley, who has failed to invest enough into the club to take it forward.
This ongoing court case between Jimenez and Ashley is interesting viewing for Newcastle fans, who will be disappointed in their failure to secure a sale of the club in the Middle East all those years ago.
However, above all, Newcastle fans will be fuming at this latest claim.
The fact that Ashley allegedly scuppered such a brilliant potential deal for the club and its future by setting off a disturbance in a bar is ludicrous.
Obviously this claim has not been corroborated, but if it is true, then the Toon Army have every right to be seething (even more than they already are) with Ashley and his actions.
He claims that the club is still up for sale, and with Peter Kenyon reportedly putting together a consortium, they must now just hope that a takeover happens in the coming months before Ashley inevitably takes them down to the Championship again.
