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Mike Ashley has said he is prepared to sell Newcastle United after weeks of turmoil at St James' Park. Ashley has come under criticism for the way he has run the club, notably the way he allowed Kevin Keegan to leave. Keegan left his position as manager on September 4, claiming he had no control of transfer dealings at St James' Park. "I am putting the club up for sale," Ashley said in a statement released on Sunday. "I hope the next owner is someone who can lavish the amount of money on the club that the fans want." Ashley missed Saturday's home defeat to Hull as Newcastle fans staged a number of protests in and outside the ground. The protests criticised Ashley's ownership of the club and after just 15 months in control of Newcastle he has decided to sell his stake. Ashley issued a lengthy and emotional statement on Sunday in which he spoke of his pride at owning the club he has supported since childhood. But recent events left him with no choice but to sell the club he bought for £134million last year. "I bought Newcastle United in May 2007," said the statement. "Newcastle attracted me because everyone in England knows that it has the best fans in football. "When the fans are behind the club at St James’ Park it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It is magic. Newcastle’s best asset has been, is and always will be the fans. "I am not stupid and have listened to the fans. "I have really loved taking my kids to the games, being next to them and all the fans.

"But I am now a dad who can't take his kids to a football game on a Saturday because I am advised that we would be assaulted.

"Therefore, I am no longer prepared to subsidise Newcastle United."

Ashley noted that he invested a further £110m into the club since buying the club.

"The club is still in debt," he said. "Even worse than that, the club still owes millions of pounds in transfer fees. I shall be paying out many more millions over the coming year to pay for players bought by the club before I arrived. But there was a double whammy. Commercial deals such as sponsorships and advertising had been front loaded. The money had been paid upfront and spent. I was left with a club that owed millions and part of whose future had been mortgaged.

"Unless I had come into the club then it might not have survived. It could have shared the fate of other clubs who have borrowed too heavily against their future. Before I had spent a penny on wages or buying players Newcastle United had cost me more than a quarter of a billion pounds."

Ashley stated that he bought the club for his love of football rather than to make money from his investment.

"Newcastle does not generate the income of a Manchester United or a Real Madrid," he said. "I am Mike Ashley, not Mike Ashley a multi-billionaire with unlimited resources. Newcastle United and I can't do what other clubs can. We can't afford it.

"I knew that the club would cost me money every year after I had bought it. I have backed the club with money. You can see that from the fact that Newcastle has the fifth highest wage bill in the Premier League. I was always prepared to bank roll Newcastle up to the tune of £20 million per year but no more. That was my bargain. I would make the club solvent. I would make it a going concern.

"I would pour up to £20 million a year into the club and not expect anything back. It has to be realised that if I put £100 million into the club year in year out then it would not be too long before I was cleaned out and a debt ridden Newcastle United would find itself in the position that faced Leeds United.

"That is the nightmare for every fan. To love a club that overextends itself, that tries to spend what it can't afford.

"That will never happen to Newcastle when I am in charge. The truth is that Newcastle could not sustain buying the Shevchenkos, Robinhos or the Berbatovs. These are recognised European footballers. They have played in the European leagues and everyone knows about them. They can be brilliant signings. But everybody knows that they are brilliant and so they, and players like them, cost more than £30 million to buy before you even take into account agent commissions and the multi-million pound wage deals."

In the statement on the club's official website, Ashley was also keen to praise Dennis Wise, who has also been a target for fierce criticism on Tyneside in recent weeks.

On the club's signings and transfer dealings, Ashley said: "I am prepared to back large signings for millions of pounds but for a player who is young and has their career in front of them and not for established players at the other end of their careers. There is no other workable way forward for Newcastle. It is in this regard that Dennis and his team have done a first class job in scouting for talent to secure the future of the club.

"You only need to look at some of our signings to see that it is working, slowly working. Look at Jonas Guttierrez and Fabricio Collocini. These are world class players. The plan is showing dividends with the signing of exceptional young talent such as Sebastein Bassong, Danny Guthrie and Xisco.

"My investment in the club has extended to time, effort and yet again, money being poured into the Academy.

"I want Newcastle to be able to create its own legends of the future to rival those of the past. This is a long term plan. A long term plan for the future of the club so that it can flourish."

The statement continued: "I don't want anyone to read my words and think that any of this is an attack on Kevin Keegan. It is not. Kevin and I always got on. Everyone at the club, and I mean everyone, thinks that he has few equals in getting the best out of the players. He is a legend at the club and rightly so. Clearly there are disagreements between Kevin and the Board and we have both put that in the hands of our lawyers.

"I hope that all the fans get to read this statement so that they understand what I am about. I would not expect all of the fans to agree with me. But I have set out, clearly, my plan. If I can't sell the club to someone who will give the fans what they want then I shall continue to ensure that Newcastle is run on a business and football model that is sustainable. I care too much about the club merely to abandon it.

"I have the interests of Newcastle United at heart. I have listened to you. You want me out. That is what I am now trying to do but it won't happen overnight and it may not happen at all if a buyer does not come in.

"You don't need to demonstrate against me again because I have got the message. Any further action will only have an adverse effect on the team. As fans of Newcastle United you need to spend your energy getting behind, not me, but the players who need your support.

"I am determined that Newcastle United is not only here today, but that it is also there tomorrow for your children who stand beside you at St James' Park."