When the Newcastle United owners bought out Mike Ashley, the long-term challenge was whether or not they could then go on to rival the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
The Premier League ‘Big Six’ that had built up such advantages, especially financially, particularly during the decade and a half when Newcastle United were treading water at best, under the previous owner.
Success on the pitch long-tern, almost always inextricably linked to success off the pitch.
The clubs that generate the most money can then spend the most on transfer fees and especially wages. Wage bills are generally accepted to be the biggest indicator of which teams are most likely to succeed.
The financial rules that have been put in place by both the Premier League and UEFA, have meant that it has largely become irrelevant how much a club’s owners might want to spend. Whether it is PSR, SCR, or whatever other system, it all comes down to the fact that the more money a club generates in revenues, the more money they are allowed to spend on players.
Using the most recent five Deloitte Football Money League reports, I looked into the revenues generated these last five seasons where the financial results are available, comparing the Premier League Big Six with Newcastle United.
These are the total revenues for each club from the 2020/21 season up to the 2024/25 season, from the last full season under Mike Ashley right through to the most recent one (where the financial figures are available) under the current Newcastle United owners.
Are United closing the gap…?
Premier League Big Six and Newcastle United revenues 2020-2025
Deloitte Football Money League Revenue
(Best viewed in Landscape mode)
| Club | 20/21 | 21/22 | 22/23 | 23/24 | 24/25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Man City | €645m | €731m | €826m | €842m | €829m |
| Liverpool | €550m | €702m | €826m | €718m | €836m |
| Man Utd | €558m | €689m | €746m | €781m | €793m |
| Arsenal | €367m | €434m | €533m | €675m | €822m |
| Spurs | €406m | €523m | €632m | €649m | €673m |
| Chelsea | €493m | €568m | €589m | €561m | €584m |
| Newcastle | €170m | €212m | €288m | €352m | €398m |
As you can see, across five seasons the Newcastle United owners had more than doubled their turnover from Mike Ashley’s last full season (2020/21) to the most recent available full season financial results (2024/25). From €170m to €398m.
Drilling down into the figures above, this is how Newcastle United have performed financially against each of the Premier League Big Six.
I have detailed what the gap in revenues was between Newcastle United and each of the six clubs back in 2020/21, then the gap in 2024/25.
Manchester City
The gap in 2020/21 was €475m and €431m in 2024/25.
Liverpool
The gap in 2020/21 was €380m and €438m in 2024/25.
Arsenal
The gap in 2020/21 was €196m and €424m in 2024/25.
Chelsea
The gap in 2020/21 was €323m and €186m in 2024/25.
Manchester United
The gap in 2020/21 was €388m and €395m in 2024/25.
Tottenham
The gap in 2020/21 was €236m and €275m in 2024/25.
As you can see, across those five seasons, four of the Premier League Big Six had actually increased their advantage over Newcastle United. In Arsenal’s case this has been massive. With Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United it has been more modest BUT still they have drawn further away from Newcastle United in this time period.
With Manchester City, Newcastle United have narrowed the gap, BUT when you are talking about how in these most recently available figures it is now €431m and not €475m then no cause for celebration.
The only real sign of progress has been with Chelsea, they had a €323m advantage in revenues over Newcastle United back in 2020/21 and the 2024/25 season that gap had been cut to €186m.
I think Tottenham and Chelsea were always the two of the Premier League Big Six that Newcastle United stood most chance of closing the financial gap on. With Chelsea, the ridiculous way that club is operating in a financial sense under their owners, is heading for a huge meltdown not so long in the future.
However, the reality now truly hits us with Tottenham currently. They have just dodged relegation each of the last two seasons finishing fourth bottom both times, yet because of the financially dominant position they built over so many years, they are now bidding £80m-£100m to try and sign Sandro Tonali. Tottenham able to pay far higher wages than Newcastle United AND spend far more on transfer fees.
The bigger the turnover a club has, the bigger the amount of money they are allowed to spend on transfer fees and wages. That was the case under PSR and for sure it is the same under SCR
As the figures above show, closing the financial gap on Chelsea and Tottenham is so tough, never mind Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal, which is going to clearly be a far greater challenge for the Newcastle United owners.