‘A strange one’ – Inside Henry Mauriss’ Newcastle United ‘bid’ amid Sheffield United link

The name Henry Mauriss may be new to Blades fans, but it’s one that is more than familiar to Newcastle supporters. The American businessman has been linked with a takeover at Bramall Lane, with reports suggesting a deal to buy the club is being reviewed by the EFL.

A story published by the BBC last week claimed Mauriss’ company has told them they believe they have ‘demonstrated the financial capability to purchase and sustain the club’, while current Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah is understood to have played down the chances of a takeover happening as being at ‘less than 50%’ during an interview with Saudi Arabian newspaper Al Yaum.

The extent of the Californian’s wealth is unknown. He has been referred to as a billionaire in some circles, but it’s believed he originally made his money in the credit card and finance industry before moving into media, where he is now CEO of ClearTV.

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His name first surfaced in 2020 during a reported takeover attempt at Newcastle. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Bin Salman looked all set to buy the Premier League club for £300million from Mike Ashley, but it hit the rocks.

It was then reported that Mauriss pounced and came in with a £350million offer but it has since been claimed that Ashley walked away due to a lack of progress. At the time, the Daily Mirror reported that his bid to buy the Magpies was brokered by convicted fraudster Chris Ronnie – the former JJB Sports chief who was jailed for four years in 2014 for a £1m fraud.

The national newspaper claimed Ronnie brought the Mauriss bid to Ashley. In the end, Amanda Staveley and Yasir Al-Rumayyan eventually had their offer to buy Newcastle accepted and the takeover went through in October 2021.

Was Mauriss’ bid genuine? Or was it a clever ploy by Ashley to bring the Saudi regime back into the game?

To get the lowdown on what happened, we spoke to Newcastle Chronicle writer Lee Ryder, who reported on the takeover attempt. He says it was a ‘strange one’ but the message at the time was that it was the real deal.

What do you know about the Henry Mauriss bid to try and buy Newcastle?

“What we know is that people from the Mike Ashley side were briefing at the time that he was a genuine contender to buy the club and that came on the back of the Middle East consortium, who now own the club, not being able to get the deal over the line with the Premier League.

“My understanding of it was that Mike Ashley had lost patience with the process with the current owners and the Premier League and then had this bid from Henry Mauriss. We were told by Mike Ashley’s people at the time that Henry Mauriss had paid the initial legal fees and placed a bid but then the story just petered out. It was a strange one.

“We were told by Ashley’s people it was genuine and whether he had done that to try and put pressure on the bidders, the consortium and the Premier League I guess only Mike Ashley can answer that one.”

Sheffield United fans will understandably want to know whether he was genuine and a serious player. In your opinion was he?

“The Mike Ashley camp were certainly keen for the Henry Mauriss bid to be reported. It’s one that only Mike Ashley can answer. In terms of seeing confirmation of an official bid, it never emerged.

“Whether that was because they had assurances from the Premier League that the Middle East bid was still possible, I don’t know. It was never confirmed if a bid from Mauriss got as far as reaching the Premier League, but both parties were asked at the time for a response.

“The Premier League could not confirm that.

“During most of this process Mike Ashley was in Orlando in lockdown. He was stranded there at the start of the pandemic but stayed there.

“Whether he got round the table with Mauriss in the search for another bidder, when the Middle East consortium deal staggered by in 2020, we don’t know for sure. But both tycoons were in the same country at the same time and the stories emerged off the back of it.”