Where are Newcastle in bid to be the best by 2030? - Published Three years, seven months and 21 days. That is how long it took for Manchester City to win their first Premier League title following the club's takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008.

Memories of such a relatively swift transformation were still fresh in the minds of top-flight executives after Newcastle United's Saudi-led buyout in 2021. "There was quite a lot of fear in the other clubs because they thought it was going to be another Manchester City," a source said. The reality proved a little different.

Newcastle may have gone on to end a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy by lifting the EFL Cup in 2025. Eddie Howe's side may have qualified for the Champions League in 2023 and 2025. But the regulatory landscape has changed dramatically since Manchester City first set out to disrupt the established order, as football finance expert Kieran Maguire succinctly explained.

"The challenge for Newcastle United is in the era of PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and now SCR (squad-cost ratio), it is very much geared towards preserving the status quo," he said. A huge revenue gap still to bridge Newcastle, nonetheless, had big ambitions from the outset. They may have been in deep relegation trouble at the time, but former owner Amanda Staveley made it clear in her opening round of interviews that the club's aim was to win the Premier League within a decade.

There was a concern elsewhere in the top flight that Newcastle could look to finance such a push within the rules by turbocharging revenues through lucrative sponsorship deals with Saudi companies. As BBC Sport previously reported, an unnamed executive contacted the Premier League on behalf of his club and 10 others just a few days after the buyout. He requested that notice was given of a vote to introduce a short-term ban on such related-party transactions.

This was the precursor to the rules on associated party transactions (APTs), which were introduced in December 2021. Newcastle's income streams have still grown - from £140m in 2021 to £335.3m in 2025 - but they are lagging behind the Premier League's highest-earning clubs. Newcastle may only be two places below sixth-placed Chelsea in the top-flight's revenue table, but the Blues still generated £155m more in the respective clubs' most recent set of financial accounts thanks to an aggressive trading model.

This is just one of the reasons why Chelsea have been able to agree a club-record £117m deal with Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers and hand the England forward a sizeable wage increase. Three key players sold in less than a year As the fifth anniversary of the takeover approaches in October, Newcastle clearly have work to do on and off the field. Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan set out to be "number one" while chief executive David Hopkinson's aim was to be "in the debate about being the top club in the world" by 2030.

But Newcastle need the infrastructure to match. An announcement is awaited on plans for a new state-of-the-art training ground after a site was identified in Woolsington near Newcastle Airport. The club have stressed the importance of taking time to make the right decision when it comes to either expanding St James' Park or building a new stadium, which will be key to boosting revenue.