Sources: Newcastle United set to strike Saudi deal after £35m agreement

Newcastle United could be in line to strike a sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian airline company Riyadh Air, Football Insider understands.

The newly-formed airline company was launched five months ago with plans to start flights within the next two years.

But the company has already begun expanding into football sponsorship with a front-of-shirt deal with Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.

The La Liga club are set to earn £35million per year as part of a sponsorship deal agreed on Thursday (10 August).

Riyadh Air are owned by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been appointed in charge of the airline.

Riyadh Air were initially tipped to become Newcastle’s new shirt sponsor ahead of the 2023/24 campaign due to their links with the club’s ownership.

Newcastle ended up partnering with Saudi Arabian company Sela in a £25million per year deal, but Riyadh Air remain keen to stamp their name into Premier League sponsorship and view Newcastle as an ideal partner.

Any potential agreement will strengthen Newcastle’s links to Saudi Arabia and PIF after they also struck deals with Noon and Sela this summer.

The extent and value of a potential Riyadh Air partnership is still under consideration, with both parties aware that any agreement will have to undergo the Premier League’s fair market value assessment.

Sponsoring another top-flight club in England has not been ruled out by Riyadh Air, but Newcastle’s growing popularity in Saudi Arabia has made them a priority.

In other news, Newcastle United working on two more signings after Tino Livramento deal agreed