Newcastle United have announced that owner Mike Ashley has no plans to sell the club until the end of next season at the earliest.
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The Magpies moved on Friday to dismiss speculation that Ashley is ready to sell up in order to buy Rangers, in which he already has a nine percent stake.
According to the Daily Telegraph, he is interested in taking complete control of the Scottish side, which would mean having to sell Newcastle as UEFA rules stipulate the same person cannot own two clubs that might meet each other in European competitions.
Neither side is currently involved in European competition, but both have hopes of returning to that level in the near future.
A Newcastle statement, which revealed that the Daily Telegraph has been banned by the club for its report, read: "The truth is Mike Ashley remains committed to Newcastle United. For the avoidance of doubt, this means that for the remainder of this season and AT LEAST until the end of next season, Mike Ashley will not, under any circumstances, sell Newcastle United at any price.''
The statement continued: "The club cannot be stronger in stating its position on this matter.''
The Daily Telegraph is not the first newspaper to be banned by Newcastle, who have also closed their doors to the Evening Chronicle, the Journal and the Sunday Sun following critical coverage.
Newcastle have been formally offered for sale on two occasions during Ashley's seven-year tenure to date, but on neither occasion has a buyer been able to come up with the necessary finances to complete a deal.
The billionaire paid a total of 134.4 million pounds for the club, to which he has since made interest-free loans of 129 million pounds.
Ashley, who has presided over a controversial restructuring of the business in recent years which has effectively made it self-sufficient, has been open to offers for much of the last six years while not actively looking to sell.
However, the prevailing economic climate did little to encourage prospective buyers and there are no active proposals on the table.
The announcement that the current owner is not looking to sell, in the short-term at least, may not go down well with his critics amid another stormy period in the club's recent history.
Ashley has funded a sizeable summer recruitment drive, although much of it came from the proceeds of the sales of Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy.
However, anger remains at a perceived lack of investment in the squad, and at his decision to strike a sponsorship deal with payday lender Wonga.
Renaming St James' Park the "Sports Direct Arena" and appointing Joe Kinnear as director of football also caused controversy, although Magpies manager Alan Pardew is the man currently in the firing line after an indifferent start to the new season.