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IAN HERBERT: The Saudi takeover of Newcastle is just a cynical scheme to obscure brutality, bigotry and misogyny... taking dirty money from a grubby state is a new low

Even before the deal had been done, the Saudis were being proclaimed as the saviours of Newcastle United, having banished the wretched Mike Ashley to history.

'Enjoy your day. This is your time now,' proclaimed the Twitter feed for a fans' group backing the takeover bid, welcoming '50million new black and white Saudi supporters' aboard.

There will be a lot more of this from now on. Expect a carefully curated narrative about Saudi 'saviour' Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the weeks to come - put out there by some of the world's most effective communications people, who are paid extremely well to spin beautiful lines about one of the most atrocious states on earth.