Most probably wondered who he played for and what the transfer fee might be.

Obviously, money talks with all sports but as far as the World Game goes, it's been rather shouting of late.

For those who may have missed it, Newcastle United have been bought for £305 million by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

Fronted by Mohammed Bin Salman, PIF is said to have more than £260 billion available to invest, instantly making the North-East club 10 times richer than the EPL's next wealthiest - Manchester City, owned by United Arab Emirates deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour who is reported to oversee a family fortune of at least $1 trillion.

However, while United fans celebrated and looked forward to a golden team being built around hopeless Brazilian striker Joelinton, plenty of independent observers dared to point out Saudi Arabia's suspicious human rights record.

Ahead of this week's match with Tottenham, a van drove around St James' Park adorned with images of both Bin Salman and Khashoggi, the outspoken journalist assassinated and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, allegedly by agents of the Saudi government.

Inside the ground, under the gaze of the club's new non-executive chair Yasir Al-Rumayyan, all was forgiven - especially when Callum Wilson headed United into a second-minute lead.

Fortunately for all right-thinking members of society outside Tyneside, Harry Kane and his mates subsequently restored order, claimed the points and left their fans chanting: "No noise from the Saudi boys" to a rapidly emptying ground.

But the blinkered developments were just the latest example of the increasingly distasteful relationship between finance and football.

Two months ago, Lionel Messi burst into tears at a press conference announcing his 75 million Euro move to Paris Saint Germain prompted by the perilous predicament of his beloved Barcelona largely caused by the prolonged overpayment of South American superstars like Neymar, Luis Suarez and, er, Lionel Messi.

Meanwhile, Messi's perennial rival in world player of the year votes, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United where he is earning 1.1 million Euros per week.

Ronaldo's net worth as of 2020 was estimated to be $460 million - enough to treat his agent to a wedding present of a Greek island.

There was a minor victory in football's feud with greed when the loathsome European Super League was, temporarily, thwarted.

However, next year's World Cup will still be held in Qatar - a dubious decision dating back to the corrupt heyday of since-disgraced FIFA boss Sepp Blatter.

Not only has the oil-rich nation's state TV company been embroiled in an alleged $100 million deal to secure hosting rights, but reports suggest that 6500 migrant workers have died in the country in the decade since it won the right to host the tournament.

Rather than keep its head down in the wake of such adverse publicity, FIFA has recently taken to pushing the idea of holding the World Cup every two years, instead of four as has been the case since the inaugural tournament in 1930.

It should come as no surprise to anybody, least of all those who have read this far, that the primary motivation behind this proposal is money.

The World Cup is FIFA's fattest cash cow.

More World Cups equal more income.

Everyone's happy. Except maybe migrant workers in Qatar.

The Guardian newspaper perfectly summed up the sorry state of affairs as it concluded a thought-provoking reflection on Monday's bizarre goings-on which ended in a 3-2 win to Spurs.

"Newcastle remain winless and sit 19th in the table. Meanwhile, Jamal Khashoggi is still dead."