Newcastle United chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan returned to St James’ Park on Wednesday night to watch the club’s historic 4-1 Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain. The governor of the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund stood in the stands as Miguel Almiron, Dan Burn, Sean Longstaff, and Fabian Schar scored to upset the Qatari-owned Ligue 1 winners.
It was Al-Rumaayan’s first public appearance at a Newcastle game since the club’s Champions League victory over Leicester City in May. As part of his duties as chairman of LIV Golf, he is now in the United Kingdom, where he will attend the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in St. Andrews.
Following the triumph, Magpies head coach Eddie Howe had a’very brief’ chat with the chairman at St James’ Park. “I did [speak to Al-Rumayyan], very briefly, because I was in the middle of my press conference,” Howe went on to say. “We only had a few minutes together, and it was brief.”
“Both sides offered words of encouragement. From him to me, and vice versa. It’s always nice to see him, and we appreciate it when he comes to see us play.”
As emphasized in the ‘We Are Newcastle United’ documentary, Al-Rumayyan’s mission statement at Newcastle is to become the world’s ‘number one’ club side. However, Howe was quick to point out that no concrete goals had been established for him this year.
“We haven’t had a meeting together for some time,” added the Newcastle boss. “This season is different because of the amount of games.
“But I’m sure there are decisions and meetings going on that I’m not aware of. The aim is to be the best we can be, as quickly as we can be.
“But I’ve not been set any targets. The target is to maximise and get everything I can out of the squad. That’s the message, really.”
Newcastle reached the Carabao Cup final and qualified for the Champions League last season. This season, they will be looking to progress into the knockout stages of the Champions League while also remaining competitive around the European places in the Premier League.
There is also the quite clear task of ending a 55-year trophy drought.
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