Officials at Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications group have denied the Indian billionaire is on the verge of buying Newcastle United. Reports in the English press suggested Ambani was due to fly into the country today to seal the £300 million (Dh1.95bn) move.
And, they added, his first act would be to reappoint Kevin Keegan as manager following his surprise departure last week. However, Reliance Communications spokesman Gaurav Wahi dismissed any such plans. "We have denied this earlier and we have no plans to take over Newcastle United or any other English club," he said. Abu Dhabi United Group were reported to be have investigated the possibility of acquiring Newcastle before deciding on a takeover of Manchester City, and Ashley appears keen to sell after the fans turned on him following Keegan's departure.
But it seems unlikely that will be to Ambani, who is listed as the world's sixth richest man with a personal wealth of £21bn. Meanwhile, the war of words between Keegan and Ashley escalated yesterday with Keegan reasserting he left because he no longer had full control of the club's transfers. The League Managers' Association's chief executive Richard Bevan, who has been representing Keegan, said: "His chief complaint, among others, is that it was always agreed that the director of football could not impose a player that the manager did not want.
"This agreement has been broken. The fact is that the chairman at the time of Kevin Keegan's appointment, the director of football and the owner of Newcastle United, have confirmed previously in public meetings and publications that he would always have the final say." But a Newcastle statement, issued on the club's website, criticised Keegan for dragging the dispute into the public domain. It stated that Keegan agreed to report to a director of football and to the board, and that he had worked with that structure until his resignation.
He was responsible for the training, coaching, selection and motivation of the team and had been allowed to manage those duties without any interference from any board member. He had agreed only to deal with the media in relation to club matters relating to the team and not to communicate with the media in relation to the acquisition or disposal of players. @Email:sports@thenational.ae
