Jordan takes credit for Newcastle takeover, insisting 'dead land' comment is to thank

And we're not sure if he was joking or not…

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The Magpies were bought out by a Saudi-backed consortium in October 2021, with the one-year anniversary of the deal coming this week.

As Newcastle fans are painfully aware, the £300million deal was far from easy to pull off.

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However, after a succession of delays complications, the breakthrough came after Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on beIN SPORTS, the Qatari network and official broadcaster of the top-flight in the Middle East, amid piracy claims.

Simon Jordan was discussing the proposed takeover at length at the time, and said that there was 'not a cat in hell's chance' of the deal going through.

He then uttered a statement which has since become famous in the north east of England - that Newcastle's takeover was 'deader than a dead thing from dead land'.

While the former Crystal Palace chairman did admit that he was 'completely wrong' about the takeover being 'dead', Jordan is now able to see the funny side.

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However, rather than accept being part of the joke, the talkSPORT pundit has now insisted his comments were what actually pushed the deal over the line.

In a tongue-in-cheek exchange with Jim White, Jordan said: "You've got to see it for what it is, I put a CTA out there, a call to action.

"And it triggered a response that I never imagined, that the Saudis copped to the fact that they pirated their broadcasters and they fell on their sword.

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"They admitted they pirated beIN SPORTS and the deal was done. I take credit for that!

"I take credit for putting out a robust statement saying that, 'it's deader than a dead thing from dead land', which was my credibility at the time!

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"Ultimately I got an email through around an hour later from someone quite influential, that said that the Saudis has copped to the piracy issue between BeIN and the Saudi broadcaster, which will lead to a potential situation with the Premier League.

"I remember saying to Luke [the producer] when I walked out the door, 'Oh God, I think I'm going to find myself in a invidious position'.

"You've got to see the psychological effect of a significant call to action, calling people out, because people raise their games."

So, Newcastle fans - you're welcome?