BBC
Superstar players such as Paris St-Germain’s Neymar and Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo are out of Newcastle United’s financial reach, says Magpies boss Eddie Howe.
Newcastle are one of the richest clubs in the world following a takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in October 2021.
It has seen the club linked with moves for the likes of Neymar and Ronaldo.
“We could not be able to come close to affording those players,” said Howe.
“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.”
Since the takeover, Newcastle have spent about £250m on signings including Kieran Trippier, Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Nick Pope and record purchase Alexander Isak.
They have helped the club to third in the Premier League with five games left this season as they close in on securing qualification for the Champions League.
Asked about Portugal forward Ronaldo and Brazil’s Neymar, Howe said: “That kind of speculation has been there from day one since the takeover.
“Naturally everyone has then assumed the biggest names in world football will be going to Newcastle.
“Now, we’ve not recruited that way. Financially, we can’t recruit that way at the moment, but also we have to bring the right people and the right players into the group.
“I will say the transfer market is such a complex decision, you can’t just pick a name and bring them in.
