A British press report confirmed that Saudi Arabia is close to acquiring most of the shares of Newcastle United, the Premier League club.
And the British newspaper "Daily Telegraph" revealed - in an exclusive report - that the Association of English Clubs was informed of the conclusion of an agreement to pay the sovereign wealth fund in Saudi Arabia about 340 million pounds (380 million euros) to Newcastle club owner Mike Ashley in exchange for the acquisition of 80% of Club shares.
The report stated that the remaining 20% of the shares would be divided between a subsidiary of businesswoman Amanda Staffeli (who played the broker in the deal), and Robin Brothers, owned by Britain's second richest family.
Several British reports confirmed several weeks ago that there were negotiations between the Saudi side and the English club, including the British newspaper, The Guardian, which said - according to informed sources - that the completion of the deal "is 90% certain."
Speculation is likely to increase that the deal is finally completed after Ashley's accountants were told in recent weeks that Newcastle would be sold to another destination, according to the Financial Times.
Several British reports indicated last year to the desire of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to buy Manchester United, but the negotiations reached a dead end, which made him switch to buying Newcastle, whose president is in crisis with the fans of the club.
As negotiations began, Amnesty International described Saudi Arabia's bid to buy Newcastle as an "attempt to wash shame through sport."
The organization said in a report to the newspaper, "The Sun" that Saudi Arabia is known for its attempts to "wash shame through sports" by using the luster and prestige of high sports as a tool of public relations to distract attention from its poor human rights record, according to the newspaper report.
The report continued that during the era of Muhammad bin Salman there was a comprehensive human rights campaign with the imprisonment of many peaceful activists, including Lujain al-Hathloul, and other brave women defenders of women's rights, according to the report.