Mike Ashley was READY to confirm £ 300m Newcastle sale LAST WEEK before Saudis insisted on delay – Daily Mail, Dailymail.co.uk

Mike Ashley was READY to confirm £ 823 m Newcastle United sale to Saudi buyers LAST WEEK before they insisted on a delay because the local custom is to wait for full completion before a deal is announced

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• Mike Ashley is in the process of selling Newcastle to Saudi Arabian buyers
• The businessman was ready to announce the deal last week until a delay
• Saudi custom is to wait for full completion, hence the lack of announcement
• There might otherwise have been a statement as deal is with the Premier League

By Craig Hope for MailOnline

(Published:

: (BST, (April) | : : (BST,) (April) Mike Ashley was hours away from confirming the £

million sale of Newcastle United last week only for the Saudi owners in-waiting to insist on a delay, sources have told Sportsmail.

Those close to the deal – being brokered by Amanda Staveley – say the Saudi business custom is to wait until full completion before making a formal announcement.

That would explain why there has been no statement from the club explaining that an agreement has been reached and that the proposed takeover is now in the hands of the