Christopher Mort is an English lawyer and former chairman of Newcastle United Football Club.

Chris Mort
NationalityEnglish
OccupationLawyer
EmployerFreshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Known forFormer chairman of Newcastle United

Biography

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Mort is a lawyer for Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he is head of their sports and gaming practice.[1]

Mort worked for Mike Ashley on his takeover of Newcastle United,[2] and took over as chairman of the club on 24 July 2007.[3] Mort sacked manager Sam Allardyce and appointed Kevin Keegan as his successor in January 2008.[4]

Mort set up the Newcastle United Foundation to lead on the club's charitable work in the north-east and rebuilt the club's relationship with children and families.[5]

He left the club in June 2008 and was replaced by Derek Llambias in the role of managing director.[6]

Mort was linked by the media with a return to Newcastle after being spotted at several games.[7] It was claimed, in January 2020, that he had been asked by Amanda Staveley to lead negotiations in connection with a possible Saudi-backed takeover of the club.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Partners, counsel and principal consultants". Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  2. ^ "Christopher Mort". Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  3. ^ "New Chairman Announced". Newcastle United FC. Archived from the original on 15 December 2007. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
  4. ^ "Keegan back as manager of Newcastle". Reuters. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Ex-NUFC chairman Chris Mort reveals his feelings about time on Tyneside". Chronicle Live. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Newcastle chairman Mort moves on". BBC Sport. 17 June 2008. Retrieved 17 June 2008.
  7. ^ "Chris Mort makes intriguing return to Newcastle as Mike Ashley considers his next move". Shields Gazette. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Revealed: The man leading Newcastle United takeover talks". Shields Gazette. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 2 August 2022.