"I feel sorry for Newcastle fans!" Fascinating chat on Mike Ashley's ownership at Newcastle 

I support Chelsea and even I want Mike Ashley OUT

Yes Rio, Newcastle did spend quite a bit on players to get back into the Premier League. But in the very same transfer window they sold Townsend for £13m, Wijnaldum for £25m, Janmaat for £8m, Sissoko for £30m, amongst a few others. But pundits never seem to register those facts into the mix. I'm sick of these so-called professional TV pundits being Mike Ashley fan-boys!!!

Jermaine Jenus talking rings around Dunne and Rio

Mike Ashley doesn't care about Newcastle and would run them into the ground for an extra few quid. He is an absolute Joke.

Rio Ferdinand is a giant tool, but then again do we expect any different Great defender but terrible pundit Prefer Jenas

Ferdinand is clueless

Rip Ferdinand needs to keep his mouth shut. Saying we spent loads in Championship NO spent Wijnaldum Sissoko and Janmaat money. Then what’s the point in spending lots to get in the premier league if we’re not going to stay there as the amount he’s spent this season means we are going to be in a relegation battle. Then he says he couldn’t sell the club NO Amanda Stavely gave a perfectly reasonable offer of £270 million pounds but Ashley rejected saying he wanted £300 million. Rio mate if ur going to praise Ashley maybe do a bit more research

Does my head in when people talk about Ashley spending money in the championship to get out like Rio cluelessly just did, fair play to Jenas for rightly pointing out the money spent was literally money made from sales

Richard Dunne came across as a right thick cookie monster “Who would want to play for Rafa at Newcastle against the Top 6”. Mate we’ve WON more against the Top 6 than ALL the Premier League sides below 6th with Rafa’s approach since promotion and with a lesser budget than them if that makes us a discrace what does that make the 14 Premier League clubs with less wins vs the Top 6 with bigger budgets none of them have won more than us vs the Top 6? We have the most wins vs them but they make out we don’t try to beat them hows that when we have the most wins vs them😂 Just give your pundits the facts and stats next time otherwise they’ll get their opinion from Jamie Redknapp and Paul Merson who ALSO don’t realise we’ve beaten the Top 6 more than the entire Premier League below the Top 6 but “Newcastle don’t try to win”🤣

"He's obviously trying to get out."- On what evidence, listing the club for £100m over the value, knowing that he'll make £120m every year on TV deals + the refusal to reinvest player sales. If Rio has a problem with Newcastle spending £30m on a player, he needs to give his head a wobble and tell Mourinho to get packing for asking for £200m every transfer window.

Rio talking out of his arse here

It's refreshing seeing pundits defend newcastle and point out actual facts instead of backing Ashley.

I salute Jenas! He's spot on!

I feel sorry for Newcastle fans Because they have a owner that says he’s not rich enough to give Rafa a 40 mill budget Sports direct is the biggest sports equipment buisness in the uk 500mill year mike probably takes 200mill for him self and don’t treat Newcastle

Mike Ashley literally turned Newcastle into a advertising ground for his businesses especially now that he bought House of Fraser. Newcastle fan base need to stand up really strong against him, to either take him to court which in that case he will probably be forced to sell the club or just stop backing the club by stop going in to watch the game, buying the season tickets and any merchandise the club offers. I know it sounds hard but it might be the only way resurrect their club back to where it belongs because buying tickets and merchandise is like giving the money directly to Mike Ashley and he'll never gonna stop or sell the club as long as their are fans going in the stadium to support his business. Right now he's not doing anyone favour neither himself nor Newcastle football club and I think the moment they lost Rafa Benitez this club will be lost in Championship.

Very disappointed in Rio! Mike Ashley has took down Newcastle two times in the space of 7 years due to his penny pinching!

Newcastle are punching well above their weight to have a manager like Rafa. If Ashley doesn't invest in January he never will

He spent no money to get us back up, he made a profit from us going down

From a West Brom fan I think Newcastle fans are the best in the country and they deserve better

Liverpool support and agree with Newcastle fans that mike Ashley got go he has no respect for fans or club history.

I support Huddersfield and think Newcastle fans need all of us to help get mike out ASAP

Rio we sold sissoko and wijnaldum when we got relegated to get money

He spent money to get back into the prem just because it increases the value of his asset. Way beyond what he spent

I don't support Newcastle, but quite frankly frankly Jenas is the only one talking sense here. Having played for Newcastle, he understands the fans and the frustration they have. I have all the respect in the world for Rio, but like so many people when it comes to the Mike Ashley situation, he's talking out of his arse.

Lost all my respect for Rio Ferdinand after this

Ferdinand models shellsuits for Cashley on the sports direct website... not saying that's why he defends him here but, I reckon that's why he defends him here

It's sad to see Newcastle in this state, I grew up watching brilliant Newcastle teams playing brilliant football unfortunately I will never see that again as long as Ashley is at the club and rio has a cheek after speaking out against the glaziers and the way they were running man u he should be more sympathetic to Newcastle and their supporters, best supporters in england n among the best in Britain

Fkin com man is My Cashly 💰 he’s ripped that club off. Feel sorry for em. LUFC 🤜🏻

A owner shouldn't spend? no one wants to play for newcastle or under rafa? wtf am a watching?

Rio saying about Mike Ashley spending the money to get the club back up to the premier league. The only reason he did that was because he himself would be making more money from the premier league television deal than he would from the championship tv deal. One of the reasons why an owner like Mike Ashley can not spend money is because he knows year in year out he can 'earn' a load of money just by survival alone. He will earn a load from the tv rights and Newcastle fans are passionate so will fill the stadium every single game and as long as that continues to happen he won't spend a penny

Always liked newcastle, hope they get the ownership they deserve. #ashleyout

I’m an Arsenal fan and I want that leech Ashley out!

Why can't we finish in top 6? Dunne doesn't know what he's talking about, terrible player and looks like terrible pundit. Ashley is only using Newcastle as a money generator says he doesn't have money to put in but pays 90mil cash for HoF which was generated by the club he's a joke of an owner. Respect to JJ and host for sticking up for the club

Rafa deserves better than an owner that won't back him!

How have the likes of Bournemouth, Fulham and Wolves got bigger resources than Newcastle? Pure nonsense Rio.

Rio Ferdinand has an undisclosed conflict of interest - his own brand are sold exclusively by Sports Direct, a Mike Ashley owned business. Shouldn't have been allowed on this panel.

Rio showing his lack of intelligence and understanding of the financial side of the game

Says he doesn’t have the money yet he’s just gone and bought House of Fraser for 90 million. With a fanbase like newcastle’s, i honestly don’t understand how this man hasn’t been stabbed yet.

Poor Newcastle, stuck with the dodgy working conditions, Sports Direct fella. Surely that's a team ripe for takeover with the fervent fans and reasonably modest expectations? Wonder just how much he values them at?

'if it was your money it'd be different' no Rio if it was your club it'd be different, you'd be fuming

Im a fan of Ferdinand but he is absolutely clueless with his take on Ashley. Ashley is slowly asset striping the club. It's not a case of spending Ashley's money, it's about letting the club spend what it earns. Even St James's is being neglected! I can't believe Ferdinand is defending Ashley. I wonder how Reo would feel if it was happening to Man u instead of Newcastle!

Doesn't dunne hold the record for most own goals scored in the Prem? 🤣🤣😂

Mick cashley should sell and leave good business man yes football owner he is useless hes killing the club slowly.

We aren’t looking for him to spend his own money but we’re asking for him to reinvest the money the club makes eg the £120mil for where we finished last season and the transfer profit. We only want to spend enough to compete with the mid table clubs

Ferdinand is clueless. He's saying 'not your money though' It's not like Mike Ashley has to put in any extra. We've been making a profit through player sales and TV money... He is saving a lot of money from all the free advertising around the stadium too... Brown nosing Mike Ashley since his brand started getting sold in sports direct... Who would buy the Ferdinand brand anyway? 😂

What's weird is that Ashley is not only a bad owner but he's also a borderline criminal. It's bizarre to hear them talk about him as if he has any credibility as a human being

I'm a Manchester United fan and even I can't believe what Ferdinand's saying

I feel like Rio isn't really understanding the finances of a club here. It's not Mike Ashley's money until it gets paid out as a dividend. The amount of TV money clubs get is unreal, there's no financial reason not to invest.

Rio should stick to analyzing the football and keep quiet when speaking about economy. That was an embarrasing watch.

Whilst I agree we need to manage debt, it’s been a dreadful decline over the last 10-odd years

Rio still doesn't get it. Yes, Ashley got them back in the PL; but only after spending so little and selling everyone so that he got them relegated twice in 10 years after no relegations in the 50 years before his arrival.

I feel for Newcastle fans the investment hasn't been there And Ashley should be held accountable for his own words, the guy said he'd let the manager spend whatever the club makes They got about £25M plus for Mitrovic alone ffs

after looking at the amount of debt newcastle are in, no wonder its in desperate need of change of ownership at the club to wipe the debts off, feel sorry benitez for not being backed in the transfer market with money to spend and not given a new contract as he is now in final year of current contract. In my opinion, Mike Ashley is a disgrace to the club despite trying to get out by selling to someone else which he tried to do last season but talks broke down. As I said before, Benitez and newcastle supporters deserve better and needs to have decent cup run and also drastic improvement in the squad.

This just came in my recommended. Can not wait to get our club back and get back to where we belong

This is the first time I’ve properly seen Jermaine Jenas talking sense about Newcastle Utd.

Won't spend money won't sell club for reasonable price

Jenas cannot understand how Newcastle are not pushing for champions league even though their net spend is £1m and several other clubs have invested serious serious amounts of money. What is this guy on about?

I support Newcastle and he HAS TO GO!The worst part for me is this summer he put about 15 mil in the transfer window then the day after the transfer window closed he bought house of fraiser for 80 mil but he couldn't spend 80 mil on a world class striker!!!

Rio hasn’t got a clue, remember when Newcastle where always head to head with rios Man U

Rio talking about how Mike Ashley spent big to get the club back into the Premier League seems to have overlooked that it was Ashley's decision to firstly hire McClaren and then secondly fail to sack him when it became obvious he was making a mess of it that LED to the club ending up going down in the first place. Selective memory from Rio?

Can’t believe no one noticed that “It’s not as black and white as that” pun by Rio Ferdinand

It’s the same situation with Arsenal...but the pundits here won’t admit that because they are biased towards them.

Mike Ashley needs to go we need fresh investment. I'm not saying a multi billionaire someone who's gonna show ambition in the market. Jenas is correct it's not the squads fault their paid to play. Rafa will walk away in May or earlier I'm afraid. I hope I'm wrong.

Rio has not got a clue. He got 70mil from transfers plus parachute money. Still not enough of that put back in

Newcastle supporters need to force him out. Make the atmosphere so toxic that the value of the club is affected. Simple as that.

Watched the full video before I realised it was a year old...

Just wish Ashley would leave Newcastle am an avid supporter of the toon but Ashley needs to sell and get out that's my opinion

Agreed. But, when talking about Newcastle being a champions league club and challenging for the league, I think it's worth remembering they had only been promoted from the first division a few years before.

Jenas is totally and utterly correct, he's a multi billionaire Mike Ashley, just uses the toon for advertising for sports direct, just go man.

Rafa is to good not for Newcastle but for Mike Ashley

Top signing is house of Fraser embarrassing? 😬

Here we are 1 year later... No transfers made 5% increase on season tickets Most expensive kit in the prem He STILL hasn’t sold the club And we have lost a manager who absolutely NOBODY wanted to leave and yet the club still manages to get rid of him. WE NEED ASHLEY OUT NOW

What is Rio on? They're asking to spend money the club has earned, not Mike Ashley...they don't need him to be Roman or Sheikh, but just money that the club earned...

Rio Ferdinand is deluded for defending Mike Ashley especially after the way Jonas Gutierrez was treated

Well done Jake Humphrey and Jermaine Jenas for speaking some sense here!

Newcastle will rue the day when Benitez leaves. There are clubs who would kill for Benitez, and Newcastle don't realize how lucky they are. He's the best chance Newcastle have got of any sustained success. If he goes (and he will when his contract expires) Newcastle will be in serious trouble.

Owners like this and my club need to be rid of football they have no place in the game total interest is profit not football makes me so angry

He is a oxygen thief in my eyes

Rio Ferdinand's punditry is sponsored by Sports Direct

Fans need stop going games in till he leaves

Where not asking Mike Ashley to Complete with the likes of City Chelsea,United Ect. Just put enough in to get better quality of players and help Rafa out. If done that he would’ve got some respect.

Didn’t Ferdinand say that Man Utd should have spent more? When it’s the toon though......

Rio saying its not their money but the fans pay for their tickets every game so if they want that money spent then it should be spent

Lazy comments aboht rafa being defensive. His valencia were fine. Liverpool were exciting an co stantly broke goal scoring records. His napoli were known as very attacking and broke goal scoring records. Its called playing as a single unit. Boring to call it lazy all his ex clubs fans loved his teams.

Mike Ashley runs Newcastle as a company not a football club.

I wish every football owner loved and work for his team like Abrahamovich (Chelsea owner) the football would be more fun to watch. Competition between owners would be amazing COYG

He just wants the money then he will be gone but R.I.P Mike Ashley because peter keyon is buying is when he sells the club

Mike ashley probably spends most of the clubs budget on the finest sports direct chocolate medals bearing in mind they are £2:50 a medal 😂😂

Would rio back mike Ashley if he was owner of Man Utd ?

Rio Ferdinand just totally misses the point.

Dunne just shot them down in 7 seconds with the truth

jake owned rio

The club can't be 144m in debt.. Total bullshit from Ashley.

Rio Ferdinand sounds like Dennis Wise.

Feel sorry for Newcastle rafa and the lads are just working hard and ashley isnt back them

Rio is so far up Ashley's backside. His comments are farcical

Ashley v us - it became personal a long time ago for him.

They honestly look like a championship club,poor squad.Rafa must be ready to walk.Ashley happy to keep that big fat tv rights money in his pooch.

For all those people criticising Rio... he isn't talking about his own opinions but merely playing devils advocate. What is the point of a debate if everyone (including the presenter - who should be playing the role!) has the same opinion?

We are just a cash cow to ashley no intention of selling up no other interest other than his bank account. i find it ridiculous that last summer he has no cash to put into the club because all his money is in sportsdirect shares but can pay cash for house of frasier 12 months later wonder were that came from