“Very warm club, a family” – Newcastle United star hails club and ownership

Newcastle United defender Sven Botman has praised the club as being like “a family”, speaking about the ownership’s love for the Magpies.

Botman joined Newcastle in a €37m deal from Lille in the summer, one of their first big signings of the first summer window under the new owners.

The Magpies are now owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, making them one of the richest clubs in world football.

They completed that takeover in October 2021 and the Magpies have tapped into that wealth ever since, strengthening in January 2022 to help them avoid relegation and then again in the summer.

That investment has helped to transform Newcastle this season, with key additions in the summer and smart management from Eddie Howe and his team helping the Magpies to third in the table after 20 games of the season.

It means there is very much a feel good factor at St James Park these days and Botman has hailed it, insisting they are now like a family, including the owners.

“It is a very warm club, really a family,” he told JayJay Boske at Only The Best, relayed by Voetbal Zone.

“The new owner really surprises me; he is at the club very often. Every fortnight anyway. Then they come over, take the kids and go and watch. They absolutely love that.

“The other day we were at training camp in Saudi Arabia and we visited two other owners in their palace. Bizarre. Really a whole other world.”