Traditional strong teams in the Premier League are often called the “Big Six.” However, it is expected that the number of teams will increase to become the “Big Seven.” Newcastle United, which has Saudi Arabian capital, is expected to be added.
The Shields Gazette, a British media outlet, said on the 28th (Korea Standard Time), “British ‘Sky Sports’ rebranded Premier League elites ahead of the 2024-25 season, including Newcastle United,” adding, “Newcastle has been added to the historic ‘Big Six’ of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.”
Some fans who failed to make it to the Big 7 are also protesting. “This angered Aston Villa and West Ham United fans,” said ToonTalk, which reported Newcastle news, adding that fans of the two clubs do not understand this.
The Premier League, which started in 1992, is traditionally called the Big Six strong teams. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool were called the Big Four in the early days of the Premier League, but Manchester City and Tottenham added to the team to become the Big Six in the late 2000s.
One of the characteristics of the Big Six is that it is ranked high, but it also invests a lot of money in the transfer market. Since its acquisition by Sheikh Mansour in 2008, Manchester City has become a strong team in earnest and has established itself as the best team in the Premier League by recruiting star players in each transfer market.
Newcastle is also investing as much money as the Big 6 in the transfer market recently. Sky Sports seems to have tied Newcastle to the Big 7 as they have more money.
Newcastle was acquired by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund (PIF) chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman in October 2021, and has been relentless in the transfer market. Star players’ names are also on the rise and fall, spending money on recruiting the players they want.
Shortly after Saudi Arabia’s capital was introduced, it was reported that it could recruit Eden Hazard, who played for Real Madrid at the time, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who played for Manchester United. Korean players were no exception. There were also continuous reports that PSG will seek to recruit Lee Kang-in in the transfer market this summer. All of them did not lead to recruitment, but it shows that Newcastle have great financial power.
Newcastle have been a strong team since the second season since the acquisition. Newcastle made a splash in the Premier League in the 2022-23 season and secured a spot in the UEFA Champions League. 스포츠토토
The 2023-24 season was not good enough. Newcastle ranked at the bottom of the group with PSG, Borussia Dortmund, and AC Milan in the “Death Group” in the Champions League, which they played for the first time in 21 years. They finished seventh in the league, failing to display the same performance as before.
While Newcastle’s gusts have subsided, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa have made an extraordinary development like Newcastle, finishing the season fourth and securing a place in the Champions League. It has become a team that Villa fans cannot ignore enough to insist they enter the Big Seven.
Emery said the term referring to a traditional powerhouse like the Big 6 is meaningless. “Now it’s not the top 6, it’s the top 7, the top 8, or the top 10,” he said. “There are many teams that can play that role and I want to include Aston Villa in this.”
Teams in the Big Six don’t always stay in the top ranks, either. Manchester United finished eighth in the 2023-24 season, while Chelsea fell to 12th in the 2022-23 season. This is why the Big 7 announced by Sky Sports created controversy.
