Rafa Benitez genuinely believes Newcastle United can establish themselves as one of English football’s premier clubs if resources are ploughed into the Magpies – and seemingly so too do two former CEOs of both Manchester clubs.
Ex-Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon’s interest in acquiring Newcastle has been well documented in recent months, but now former Manchester City director Garry Cook has emerged as a key figure in the takeover saga.
Cook is reportedly fronting a US-based consortium who are said to be willing to meet Mike Ashley’s £300million asking price for the Magpies.
But who is Cook? Does he have a background in football? Does he have the money to buy Newcastle? And could a sale realistically take place before the end of 2018?
Although he was born in Birmingham, Cook spent a large period of his working life in the USA – where he landed a senior role at Nike.
At one stage, Cook headed up “Brand Jordan”, a project which developed a sportswear range for basketballer Michael Jordan, a move which helped raise his profile within the company.
Cook’s ability to expand Nike’s appeal to areas of the globe where the sports brand had previously struggled to reach ensured that some of the most ambitious football clubs in the world started to try and make connections with him.
Does he have football connections?
Yes – and it was at Man City where he gained his experience in the football world.
When Thaksin Shinawatra bought the Citizens in 2008, the Thai businessman appointed Cook as chief executive – and offered the former Nike employee a then-Premier League-high £1.5m-a-year salary.
Even when Sheikh Mansour bought the club a few months later, Cook retained his influential role at Man City – and went about laying the foundations for the Citizens to turn into the European force they have since become.