Chapter 23: Owners’ and Directors’ Test (2)

A short-haired blonde British beauty welcomed Helena into her office with a bright smile, gesturing for her to take a seat.

"I didn't expect you to arrive so soon. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"Could I have coffee instead?" Helena requested.

Amanda Staveley smiled. "Of course."

As Amanda poured Helena's coffee and her own tea, Helena mentally reviewed the information she'd crammed into her head on the way here.

Amanda Staveley had worked as a model during her Cambridge University days to pay for her studies, and rumors once linked her romantically to Prince Andrew of the British royal family. With her blonde hair styled in a lively bob, she was a striking figure.

After dropping out of university, she took out a loan to buy a restaurant in Newmarket, the heart of the horse-racing world, which naturally connected her to the Arab elite—royals from Dubai and Jordan with a keen interest in racing.

From there, she began a consulting business, facilitating overseas investments for Arab power brokers.

During the 2008 financial crisis, she brokered Barclays Bank's emergency funding from Middle Eastern nations and orchestrated massive deals like Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi's acquisition of Manchester City.

Now in her late 40s, her public activity had waned, but she still carried the aura of a financier who once dominated blockbuster deals between Britain and the Arab world.

Helena held her coffee cup, while Amanda Staveley held her teacup, and they sat across from each other on the sofas in Amanda's office within the PIF consortium's temporary headquarters in London.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to reach out first," Helena began candidly.

Amanda Staveley smiled with interest, pointing out what Helena left unsaid. "But you figured we'd contact you, didn't you?"

"Exactly," Helena replied.

Amanda's smile deepened as she pinpointed Helena's reasoning. "…Because you suspected Burnley's Owners' and Directors' Test was tied to Newcastle. I know Mike Garlick and John Banaszkiewicz are supporting you, but for someone new to the football world to figure that out—it's impressive."

"You know about me?" Helena asked.

Amanda shrugged, her smile intact. "Only what others know. In this industry, you can't help but hear about the Cartwright Fund. Wall Street and the City of London unanimously praise it as the best in corporate recovery—a legacy of the Cartwright DNA, unbroken for three generations."

Sipping her tea, Amanda continued, "Some of my clients have invested in or joined consortia with the Cartwright Fund, so I hear things occasionally. I've even caught wind of Andrils Automotive—how it turned the global auto parts industry upside down. They say the Cartwright daughter inherited her father's talents just like her brother."

"Heh. Guess you didn't hear about me digging in the middle of the Amazon, then?" Helena quipped.

Amanda raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I'd love to hear that story sometime. But for now, we should probably get to the more pressing matter."

With that, the young Wall Street financier of American descent and the seasoned British financier dove into the heart of the discussion.

"They don't want their exclusive social club disrupted," Amanda explained, laying out the context behind Burnley's sudden Owners' and Directors' Test. "Or, to take it further, they're afraid big money will come in and shake their positions. Do you know about the European Super League incident from last season?"

Helena nodded, having crammed the details on her way to London.

It was the failed attempt by top clubs like Real Madrid, Juventus, and elite teams from Spain, England, and Italy to form their own exclusive European competition, only to collapse under fierce fan backlash.

"Some of Europe's most prestigious clubs were ready to monopolize broadcasting revenue and exclude challengers by creating their own tournament," Amanda said, tracing a shrinking spiral in the air with an elegant gesture.

"If your results falter, your ranking drops. If your ranking drops, you miss out on European competitions. Without European competitions, you don't get a share of the broadcast income. That makes it hard to sign players, and then your ranking slips again the next season."

Helena nodded.

It was the inevitable pressure faced by any organization—especially in industries like finance or sports, where results are quickly measurable—that fails to perform.

"So every Premier League club opposed Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund acquiring Newcastle and injecting unlimited funds," Amanda continued, clicking her tongue. "The top clubs didn't want to risk losing a precious Champions League or Europa League spot. The bottom clubs didn't want another entrenched team above them, making the relegation fight even tougher."

"That makes sense, doesn't it? It makes the competition unfair," Helena countered.

Amanda shook her head. "Helena, the competition's already unfair. Did you know Roman Abramovich has loaned Chelsea £1.5 billion? Interest-free?"

Helena raised an eyebrow at the staggering figure, and Amanda smirked, as if she'd expected the surprise. "My former client, the Abu Dhabi group that owns Manchester City, supports the club with every resource imaginable—massive sponsorship deals, you name it. They even buy clubs worldwide, like the Red Bull Football Group, to supply players to Manchester City at bargain prices."

Amanda let out a low sigh. "It'd be sad if football were only about money, but you'd be a fool to think it isn't driven by it."

Helena nodded in agreement, prompting Amanda to continue. "That's why Premier League clubs opposed the PIF consortium's takeover of Newcastle. But opposition needs a justification, so the Premier League office latched onto Saudi Arabia's human rights issues."

Amanda frowned in irritation. "I'm not in a position to comment on human rights. What I'm talking about is their double standards. Does that make sense? When Roman Abramovich—one of Russia's oligarchs who emerged from post-Soviet cronyism—bought Chelsea, did the Premier League office investigate how he made his money? When the Abu Dhabi group bought Manchester City, did they look into Abu Dhabi's human rights record?"

She continued, incredulous. "When Fosun Group bought Wolverhampton, did they evaluate how that massive conglomerate operates its businesses—how legal or ethical they are? It's all excuses. Just pretexts to block another competitor."

"You're absolutely right," Helena said, having listened intently and agreed with Amanda's points. "But you didn't call me here just to explain this. What do you want to talk about?"

Her demand to skip the preamble and get to the point drew a faint smile from Amanda.

"The Premier League office's logic is simple," Amanda began concisely, diving into the core issue. "Owning a Premier League club isn't a trivial matter anymore. So it's not just about financial capability—they'll also scrutinize the source of the funds and even the owner's morality and character."

She elaborated, "That's why they can't let Newcastle United—once a proud northeastern powerhouse and the city's pride, left to rot for a decade under an indifferent and incompetent owner, even suffering the humiliation of relegation to the Championship—fall into the 'dirty hands' of the PIF consortium."

Do British schools teach students how to make such elegantly disdainful expressions as a class?

As Helena marveled internally, Amanda raised an eyebrow and shifted her tone. "Then suddenly, Burnley's ownership changes—to a Wall Street dynasty no one can easily criticize. But if the Premier League office doesn't test them, they can't avoid accusations of double standards."

Amanda's voice dropped subtly. "On the other hand, if they could disqualify or at least penalize someone as reputable as the Cartwright family in the Owners' and Directors' Test? Heh, then a controversial group like the PIF consortium wouldn't stand a chance of being approved as owners."

Finally grasping the Premier League office's stance, Helena swallowed a groan and leaned back in her chair.

Nine years ago, as global concern for the Amazon's environment surged, the Brazilian government wanted to promote internationally that they were doing their utmost to protect it.

Helena felt like she'd been thrust back into the shoes of that caricature—an unscrupulous, filthy American profiteer firing honest miners and selling off assets recklessly—targeted out of the blue.

As anger and frustration flickered across Helena's face at being dragged into an unrelated fight, Amanda made her proposal.

"I won't ask you to be allies. But as the saying goes, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' At least in this moment, the PIF consortium could be an ally to the Cartwright Fund."

"What does the PIF consortium gain?" Helena asked.

"If Burnley's ownership change is accepted as legitimate—without penalties like points deductions—there'd be no grounds to reject the PIF consortium's takeover request, which followed proper procedure. The office has already stalled too long. Newcastle's residents and local MPs are pushing back against their behavior."

Amanda scoffed at the Premier League office. "Plus, relations with the Saudi government are souring. The British government doesn't want to antagonize a Middle Eastern powerhouse with the world's largest oil and gas reserves over a single football club. If they keep delaying without a solid reason, the next 'test' might be a parliamentary hearing for the Premier League chief—and they know it."

Helena fell silent, mulling it over.