How Newcastle aim to be 'top club in the world' by 2030

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 4 Dec 2025 07:24 CST
• 4 min read

News

Newcastle aim to be the "top club in the world" within the next four to five years, according to their chief executive David Hopkinson.

In 2021, the fortunes - both literally and figuratively - of Newcastle changed dramatically after the club was purchased by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Hundreds of millions were pumped into the first-team squad and Eddie Howe was appointed as manager. In 2023, the infrastructure and performance on the pitch led to the Magpies qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 21 years.

Initially, the vast wealth of the PIF led to Newcastle being linked with every superstar under the sun, from Neymar to Kylian Mbappe. Things haven't quite worked out that way, largely due to Financial Fair Play concerns.

Still, with a backer like the PIF, the club has aspirations of continuing to grow - potentially to become the biggest around.

"That kind of progress doesn't take as long as you might think," Hopkinson told the BBC.

"First off, we need to be totally aligned about the fact that that's what we want to do. We have to have the courage to ignore those that doubt us, and even those that laugh at us. Because there will be some."

He talks about "constructing an organisation whose sole purpose is to win".

A Canadian, Hopkinson previously worked with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, where he oversaw the commercial activities of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors were "lost in the woods", as he describes, but under his tenure they went on to win the NBA Championship in 2019.

He was appointed in September by the PIF to catalyse a similar transformational impact on Newcastle.

The club need to find a way to increase revenue as that is the only way they'll be able to spend big without breaking Profit and Sustainability rules. The money from the PIF is sitting there, but it is actually earned money that will allow them to increase spending.

They have increased revenue already - from £140 million in 2021 to £400m in 2025 - but there is still a huge bridge to gap to reach the elite Premier League teams.

For example, Manchester City generated £715m for the 2023/24 campaign.

Hopkinson has also worked for Madison Square Garden Sports and acted as Real Madrid's head of global partnerships. With Los Blancos, he worked alongside chief club transformation officer, Michael Sutherland, who praised his professionalism.

"He brought a lot more structure and a more professional approach to the way sponsorships were managed," Sutherland said of his former colleague.

"You could say, 'It's Real Madrid. It's the easiest role in the world because who doesn't want to sponsor the club?'

"But it creates a different problem. You are basically selling the concept of being with the best club in the world so if Real Madrid don't have a good season, and don't win a championship, that heavily impacts your value proposition to sponsors.

"But one of the things that changed a lot was the sophistication of the types of partners we were able to offer and, particularly, the speed with which we were able to execute."

Man City are currently facing 115 Premier League charges for failing to comply with FFP and some of these charges are related to inflated sponsorship deals that are effectively coming from connections to their Abu Dhabi owners.

As a result, there are now more stringent regulations on these third-party sponsorships and if this wasn't the case, Newcastle would be free to utilise the PIF to gain billions in sponsorship from connected companies.

The club also need to improve their performances on the pitch and start winning leagues and trophies on a regular basis to gain more lucrative sponsorship deals.

"Manchester City were able to get there earlier when there was no such thing as associated party transactions, when you didn't have to go through a constant series of hoops and constraints before being able to sign a sponsorship contract and they benefited from that," football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains.

"It's that much more difficult now and, if you're a sponsor, who are you going to try and go for? You're going to go for those clubs who have got the big trophies to put alongside their product."

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