Bin Zayed Group Close to Buying Newcastle United

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed terms with Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan for him to buy the Premier League club. (AFP)
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed terms with Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan for him to buy the Premier League club. (AFP)
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Bin Zayed Group Close to Buying Newcastle United

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed terms with Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan for him to buy the Premier League club. (AFP)
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed terms with Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan for him to buy the Premier League club. (AFP)

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has agreed terms with Abu Dhabi billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan for him to buy the Premier League club, the Newcastle Chronicle reported on Monday.

British media reports have said the sale price could be around 350 million pounds ($443.66 million).

The Chronicle said they had been contacted by Sheikh Khaled’s representatives, who sent them a statement regarding reports of a possible sale.

“We can confirm that representatives of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan are in discussions with Mike Ashley and his team, about the proposed acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club,” read the statement.

“We view it as an honor to have the opportunity to build on the strong support, history and tradition of the club.

“We have agreed terms and are working hard to complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity.”

The newspaper said that Newcastle had confirmed to them that the discussions were genuine.

Sheikh Khaled, the cousin of Manchester City owner billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, previously failed in his bid to buy Liverpool Football Club for 2 billion pounds last year, the Daily Mail has previously reported.

Sheikh Khaled is also the founder of Bin Zayed Group, a leading conglomerate with diverse business interests in the local and international markets.

Ashley, who bought a controlling stake in the Premier League club in 2007, has in the past tried to sell the club.

The owner of British sportswear retailer Sports Direct International Plc said last October that he had not received any acceptable offers for Newcastle, a year after he officially put the club up for sale, but told Sky News in December that talks on a deal had made promising progress.



Osaka’s Honesty Cuts Through as Comeback Stalls at Wimbledon

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
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Osaka’s Honesty Cuts Through as Comeback Stalls at Wimbledon

Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)
Japan's Naomi Osaka reacts to a missed point Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova during their women's singles third round tennis match on the fifth day of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP)

Naomi Osaka is not one to hide behind cliches. When things go wrong, she doesn't deflect or spin the story. At Wimbledon on Friday, after a bruising Grand Slam defeat — this time at the hands of Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova — the former world number one was certainly in no mood for platitudes.

"I'm just going to be a negative human being today. I'm so sorry," she told reporters, more weary than bitter, after her 3-6 6-4 6-4 third-round loss. "I have nothing positive to say about myself. Honestly, right now I'm just really upset."

It was an unflinching performance in the press room, mirroring the one she had just delivered on Court Two. Osaka had started brightly, striking the ball with the same authority that once made her the sport's most fearsome hard-court hitter. But as the match wore on, the rhythm faded, the first serve faltered, and Pavlyuchenkova's relentless pressure told.

"I low-key busted a vein in my hand," Osaka said with a wry smile, a throwaway remark that carried the weight of someone giving everything — physically and emotionally — to a cause that still refuses to cooperate.

This wasn't Osaka being outclassed, it was a tight contest she believed she could win. "I actually thought I could play well. Not saying I didn't play well, but... make a deep run here," she said, her voice trailing into frustration.

"Clearly, I need to work on a couple of things."

Since returning to the tour after maternity leave, Osaka has shown glimpses of the player who once conquered Melbourne and New York. But her comeback remains frustratingly incomplete — flashes of brilliance surrounded by periods of struggle, Reuters reported.

Asked about her goals, she was disarmingly open: "I feel like while I still have the opportunity to try to do it, I want to. Even though I get very upset when I lose... but I think that's my competitive nature. That's also the younger sister syndrome."

On her daughter's birthday week, Osaka wanted to give herself — and her supporters — something to celebrate. Instead, she walked off court feeling once again the familiar ache of what could have been.

"No person wants to feel this way, like, multiple times throughout the year, but tennis players are crazy, so..." she smiled sadly.

"I'm glad to be done with this, and I'm looking forward to the hard courts."