Mike Ashley offers his Newcastle United players £20million in bonuses to win the FA Cup
The Toon have never gone beyond round four during Ashley's time in charge... now it seems he means business
NEWCASTLE owner Mike Ashley has personally offered the club’s players a staggering £20 million bonus if they win the FA Cup this season.
Toon’s stars had been involved in a row with club bosses through the summer on the structure of bonuses for their return to the Premier League.
The stand-off had continued into the start of the season with agreement still to be reached.
On Thursday, though, Ashley - who has faced criticism over a perceived lack of spending this summer - spoke to Newcastle’s players and stunned them with the FA Cup bonanza.
Should United win the FA Cup next year, the £20 million will come out of the Sports Direct owner’s pocket.
Ashley is now ready to do a dramatic U-turn with the competition and make it a priority at the club.
Newcastle have previously failed to get past the fourth round during his time in charge at St James’ Park.
The club’s players were surprised that Ashley personally stepped into solve the cash row.
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The Toon have never progressed past the fourth round during his time at the helm
He took over talks on Friday and on top of the FA Cup offer came a significant rise in the bonuses for league finishes as well.
The new bonus payments will not affect the amount of money Rafa Benitez has to spend in the January transfer window.
Benitez is recovering from an operation to heel an infection from a previous hernia op, and is battling to recover to return to take charge of Newcastle at Swansea on Sunday.
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He has been offered the chance to fly there from his home in Merseyside in a helicopter provided by Ashley.
