Former Newcastle United owner Sir John Hall can't see the club ever returning to English hands.

"My fear is it is now very tough for a provincial club to compete with the money being pumped into the big teams by Roman Abramovich and certain Arab investors," Hall told the Evening Chronicle.

"There is no investor in the English provinces capable of competing with their money."

Hall made his fortune in the North East and remains intensely proud of the work done by his family in resurrecting United's fortunes in the 1990s.

But he acknowledges those days are long gone, adding: "There is an inequality at work there, and it worries me.

"I know it is an open market place out there, and, as a businessman, I accept there is much to be said for that.

"But I fear foreign money - or 'funny money', spent by people coming into the game not for football but to raise their own profile - is splitting the Premier League apart.

"Abramovich came in and changed everything, and it's now got out of hand.

"It's up to the Premier League to address the issue."