Mike Ashley, the Newcastle United owner, took around £10 million out of the club over the summer, depriving manager Rafa Benitez of much-needed transfer funds.

Telegraph Sport can reveal the amount Ashley took out of the business as he suddenly decided to take back some of the £144m he has provided the club in the form of interest free loans.

Ashley had promised in an official statement back in May - as he had done 12 months earlier - that Benitez would get "every penny" the club generated in the Premier League, as he claimed he wanted the Spaniard to stay long term.

But instead he has decided not to stick to that pledge, with Benitez's refusal to sign a new deal thought to have been one of the reasons for him doing so.

The club refused to comment when asked to confirm £10m had been repaid to Ashley and to explain why it was taken out of the club given the lack of financial support for Benitez in the transfer market.

Sources have indicated that the money repaid was not meant to be a long-term loan from the owner. However, although £10m is not a large amount for a Premier League football club, it would have made a significant difference to Benitez’s transfer budget.