ARAB BILLIONAIRE SET TO BUY NEWCASTLE UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

The management added that they had been contacted by the Sheikh’s representatives, who sent them a statement regarding reports of a possible sale.

“We can confirm that representatives of His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan are in discussions with Mike Ashley and his team, about the proposed acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club,” the statement said.

“We view it as an honour to have the opportunity to build on the strong support, history and tradition of the club. We have agreed terms and are working hard to complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity.”

Penpushing further reports that, the club management said it had been confirmed to them that the discussions were genuine, while the British media reports have also said the sale price could be around 350 million pounds.

However, as at the time of this report, Newcastle United and Sheikh Khaled were yet to respond to requests for comment from Reuters, while it is recalled that, Ashley, who bought a controlling stake in the Premier League Club in 2007, has in the past tried to sell the Club.

Penpushing also reports that, the owner of British sportswear retailer Sports Direct International Plc said last October that he had not received any acceptable offers for Newcastle United, and this  was a year after he officially put the Club up for sale.

However, he had said in December that talks on a deal had made promising progress, adding that any potential buyer of the club must be able to provide transfer funds.

Penpushing reports that, Sheikh Khaled, the cousin of Manchester City FC owner and Arab billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, previously failed in his bid to buy Liverpool Football Club, and had wanted to buy the Club at 2 billion pounds last year.

The cousin of Manchester City Football Club owner and Arab billionaire  is also the founder of Bin Zayed Group, a leading conglomerate with diverse business interests in the local and international markets.