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Tony Jimenez has suggested that he was operating in a secret role during his time at Newcastle United.

In an interview with the Times, Jimenez has now suggested that his main role when appointed was to sell the club to a Middle East buyer.

Ashley put the club up for sale in 2008 after Kevin Keegan walked away following a row over transfers -

the first of three times Ashley has put the club up for sale.

Jimenez was appointed in January 2008 before leaving the club eight months later - at the height of the club’s first initial announcement Newcastle was up for grabs.

Jimenez said: “Mike wanted me to sell the club on the basis of my relationships in the Middle East, so I came in under the cover story of working in player recruitment.”

In an extraordinary interview, Jimenez then claimed that Sheikh Mansour was interested in buying the club before he eventually snapped up Manchester City and changed the face of English football by delivering huge pots of money, the Premier League title and the two domestic cups.

Jimenez said: “If he had played his cards right Mike could have sold Newcastle to Abu Dhabi before they bought Manchester City.”