Premier League Clubs to Vote on Temporary Ban Impacting Loan Deals Between Associated Clubs

Potential ban aims to protect the integrity of competition and prevent teams from loaning players from clubs under the same ownership; the decision, set to be voted on during the November 21 shareholders' meeting, could impact Newcastle's bid for Ruben Neves from PIF-owned Al-Hilal.

• Premier League clubs are set to vote on a temporary measure banning loan deals between associated clubs, a move that could disrupt Newcastle United's potential acquisition of Ruben Neves from Al-Hilal, as both clubs are majority-owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia.
• The proposed ban would only apply to incoming loans, not outgoing ones, and is intended to uphold the integrity of the competition while longer-term regulations are discussed.
• Under existing associated-party transaction rules, clubs must demonstrate that they have obtained fair market value during player transfers. This regulation impacted Newcastle's transfer of Allan Saint-Maximin to Al-Ahli, another PIF-owned club.
• The temporary ban needs support from 14 out of the 20 Premier League clubs to be implemented. The decision is slated for the November 21 shareholders' meeting.
• While the move is not specifically targeted at preventing Newcastle's signing of Neves, reports suggest that rival teams might object to Al-Hilal loaning Neves to Newcastle in January. Additionally, Manchester City and Chelsea, who also operate multi-club models, could be affected by the proposed change.

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