Years of doom and gloom under former owner Mike Ashley gave way to joy and relief when a Saudi Arabia-led consortium completed a takeover of Newcastle in early October.
The Magpies’ new owners have ambitions to make the club a force to be reckoned with in Europe and are ready to invest heavily in player recruitment in forthcoming transfer windows, just as they did in January.
However, former Newcastle star Barnes believes the Tyneside giants are a few years away from being able to attract the absolute best players in the world, because there are bigger clubs with better pulling power.
Barnes added that Newcastle should grow as a club by taking small steps and need to show they have what it takes to compete at the top, which will then allow them to pursue the biggest names in the sport.
“Newcastle have to walk before they can run”, Barnes told Bonus Code Bets.
“They’re not going to be signing the best players in the world suddenly because there are bigger clubs than Newcastle.
“They have the money, but they’re not allowed to spend it.
“The idea of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in a Newcastle shirt is wrong, because if any of the top players in world become available, they’ll still go to Liverpool, Manchester City, PSG or Manchester United, before Newcastle.
“They must grow slowly, get better players, and in two or three years, when they show they’re competing, that’s when they can move for the big players.”
Newcastle’s recruitment department are working hard behind the scenes with a view to the summer transfer window and they are already linked with a clutch of names across all positions.
