Newcastle United could never afford to sign Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar this summer, insists head coach Eddie Howe.
What’s the news?
Last week rumours emerged linking both Neymar and Ronaldo with potential moves to Newcastle. The two forwards are reportedly unhappy at their clubs Pris Saint-Germain and Al-Nassr and have both been linked with a move to Newcastle. As the club is considered to be one of the richest clubs in the world due to their Saudi Arabian owners, a potential move to Newcastle could not have been ruled out. However, Howe has played down the rumours and stated that Newcastle simply can’t afford players of that level at the moment.
What did Howe say?
Talking to reporters on Friday, Howe insisted such transfers are impossible: “We could not be able to come close to affording those players as they are the best players in the world. We are never going to be in a position currently to afford those transfer fees and wages, so we need to go underneath and find them young and develop them into the players they can be.”
The Backstory
Since Newcastle was taken over, the club has been linked with the biggest players in the world. Howe can relate to these speculations, but also said that signing the biggest names in the world isn’t Newcastle’s strategy on the transfer market. He added: “It is best to discover them before they explode onto the world scene.”
