Premier League side Newcastle United Owner Mike Ashley took around £10M ($13M) out of the club over the summer, "depriving" Manager Rafa Benítez of "much-needed transfer funds," according to Luke Edwards of the London TELEGRAPH. Ashley reportedly "decided to take back" some of the £144M ($187M) he has provided the club in the form of interest-free loans. He "had promised in an official statement" in May -- "as he had done 12 months earlier" -- that Benítez would get "every penny" the club generated in the Premier League, as he "claimed he wanted the Spaniard to stay long term." But instead Ashley "decided not to stick to that pledge," with Benítez's "refusal to sign a new deal thought to have been one of the reasons for him doing so." The club "refused to comment" when asked to confirm whether £10M had been repaid to Ashley and to "explain why it was taken out of the club given the lack of financial support" for Benítez in the transfer market. Sources indicated that the money repaid "was not meant to be a long-term loan from the owner." However, although £10M is "not a large amount" for a Premier League club, it would have made a "significant difference" to the manager's transfer budget. Benítez "is coming under pressure after Newcastle's winless start to the season but it is understood he had repeatedly warned, both in a face-to-face meeting with Ashley" and several conversations with Managing Dir Lee Charnley, that a "relegation battle was unavoidable if he was not given more funds to strengthen his squad." Ashley instead ordered the Spaniard to "stick to a strict budget despite receiving two chunks" of TV money totaling more than £100M ($130M) (TELEGRAPH, 10/22).
