Saudi sports supremo Turki Al-Sheikh has raised the intriguing prospect of a fresh takeover bid for Manchester United.
Al-Sheikh, who is understood to be in talks with United over a potential friendly game during Riyadh Season, posted a message on X on Wednesday night suggesting that the club are ready to sell to a new investor.
United’s majority owners, the Glazer family, rejected a takeover by Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani’s Qatari consortium when they sold 27.7 per cent of the club to Sir Jim Ratcliffe for £1.25billion last year.
But Al-Sheikh, the head of the General Entertainment Authority responsible for bringing some of the world’s highest-profile sports events to Saudi Arabia, posted: ‘The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor – I hope he’s better than the previous owners.’
It’s unclear if there is any substance to Al-Sheikh’s claims – or if he is criticising the Glazers or Ratcliffe in his post – but his comment attracted close to one million views by the early hours of Thursday morning.
It followed news that United could bank upwards of £10million if they strike a deal to visit Saudi this season, according to industry sources.
Al-Sheikh, who is understood to be in talks with United over a potential friendly game, posted a message on X on Wednesday night suggesting that the club are ready to sell to a new investor
The club are looking at ways to fill gaps in the calendar – and a black hole in their finances – by arranging mid-season friendlies, with Saudi one of the options under discussion.
Defeat to Tottenham in last season’s Europa League final in Bilbao cost United £100m for failing to reach the Champions League, including a £10m due repayment to adidas under the terms of a £900m shirt sponsorship.
United earned £8m from a post-season trip to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong in May, and could rake in even more from a visit to Saudi during Riyadh Season which gets underway on Friday and runs until March.
The General Entertainment Authority released an initial schedule on Monday and there is a gap for a high-profile football event.
One of the three options open to United would be to take part in the Riyadh Season Cup, a three-way tournament against the capital’s two biggest clubs, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal, which featured Inter Miami in February.
With United expected to earn around £5m-per-game, the two-game tournament guarantees £10m plus more in prize money if they win, and additional revenue from commercial opportunities during an extended stay in Saudi.
Another option is a shorter visit to play an exhibition game against a Saudi All-Star team, similar to the one involving Paris Saint-Germain in January 2023, which would be worth closer to £5m.
It’s unclear if there is any substance to Al-Sheikh’s claims, but his comment attracted close to one million views by the early hours of Thursday morning
The club are looking at ways to fill gaps in the calendar – and a black hole in their finances – by arranging mid-season friendlies, with Saudi one of the options under discussion
United could also arrange a visit with the Saudi royal family or GEA to hold a warm-weather training camp in Riyadh and play of one-off game – most likely against Ronaldo and Al-Nassr – which would again earn the club around £5m.
It’s substantially more than the £1m United banked in January 2008 when Sir Alex Ferguson took a side featuring Ronaldo to Saudi to play Al-Hilal in a testimonial for Sami Al-Jaber, losing 3-2.
Any of the options open to United are likely to involve the oil-rich state picking up the tab for travel, accommodation and warm-weather training facilities.
Being without any European football for only the second time in 35 years has left United with plenty of space in the calendar – a problem not helped by going out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle to Grimsby Town. There is more than three months between the defeat on penalties in Cleethorpes and the next midweek game against West Ham in early December.
