Saudi Arabian power broker Turki Alalshikh insists Manchester United are in advanced negotiations with a new investor, doubling down on a claim he made on social media.
The Saudi government official and chairman of the General Entertainment Authority has become an enormous figure in sport in recent years, splashing the Kingdom’s cash on huge events.
Alalshikh is most closely associated with boxing, which appears to be his greatest sporting passion project, but Saudi Arabia has invested in a range of sports.
The man with extremely deep pockets dropped a bombshell on X, stating that discussions are advanced for a new investor to come in to Manchester United.
The 44-year-old did not say who it was or if he was involved himself, but it set tongues wagging.
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‘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,’ Alalshikh posted on X on Wednesday.
‘I hope he’s better than the previous owners.’
The post has since been denied from within the club, with the BBC reporting that: ‘Multiple sources close to United say the claim is untrue.’
However, Alalshikh has added detail to his claims, posting again on X and insisting what he says is true, although not guaranteeing that new investment will come.
He wrote: ‘My yesterday’s post about Manchester United’s potential sale meant one thing: the club is in an advanced negotiation phase with a new investor.
‘Just to clarify, I am not the investor, nor are they from my nation. I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen.’
Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos now owns nearly 30 per cent of Manchester United, with the Glazer family still the majority owners.
Explaining how his Ineos team now make most of the big sporting decisions, despite being minority owners, Ratcliffe told The Business podcast: ‘We’re local, and they’re the other side of the pond.
‘That’s a long way away to try and manage a football club as big and as complex as Manchester United. We’re here with feet on the ground.
‘They come to the board meetings. We sit down and we talk about things.’
Ratcliffe has recently spoken out on the future of manager Ruben Amorim, which sounds like will be an extensive one at the club.
‘I remember the clamouring for Alex Ferguson to be fired in his first two years,’ Ratcliffe said on The Times’ The Business podcast.
‘You look at [Mikel] Arteta at Arsenal. He had a miserable time for the first couple of years.
‘We’re results-driven at the end of the day, but we have to be patient and we have to see through the results. I think there’s lots of good things at Manchester United. We have to be patient and we have a long-term plan. It isn’t a light switch.
‘Ruben needs to demonstrate that he’s a great coach over three years.’
Pushed on whether he sees three years as the likely timeframe he will give Amorim to show he can succeed, he said: ‘Yes. That’s where I would be. Three years, because football’s not overnight.’