The News Agents

How Johnson's government pressured the Premier League into the Saudi takeover

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Episode notes

Celebrations at Newcastle United as they qualify for the Champions League.

It's a success story for the club, team and fans - but it's all been helped by new money from their Saudi backers.

Today we look at a future of football as nation states - securing victories on the pitch, battling geopolitics off it. And we look at the investigation by The Athletic journalist Adam Crafton, who reveals the pressure Boris Johnson's government brought to bear on the Premier League during the Saudi takeover of Newcastle, the failure of which he said would be "an immediate risk" to the UK/Saudi relationship.