PHOTO
An unnamed member of the Saudi Arabian royal family is said to be part of a £400 million ($509 million) bid to acquire embattled UK Premier League football club Everton.
The bid is one of several for the club, which saw an acquisition deal between British–Iranian majority owner Farhad Moshiri and 777 Partners collapse last month.
Also involved in the bid is London-based businessman and lawyer Vatche Monoukian.
Other potential buyers include local businessmen Andy Bell and George Downing, as well as MSP Sports Capital, which has lent the club £158 million, according to a BBC report.
Everton is the local rival to Liverpool FC and launched the career of England international Wayne Rooney prior to his 13-year run with Manchester United.
However, Everton has faced financial challenges. UK Companies House records reveal a loss of £89 million for the year ended June 2023 and the premiership upheld a docking of six points against the club in February for profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) breaches.
If the Saudi royal-backed bid goes ahead, it will follow high profile GCC-backed English Premiership deals including the 2021 majority stake acquisition of Newcastle United by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and the Abu Dhabi-based buyout of Manchester City in 2008.
Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani was reported to have withdrawn from a bid to buy Manchester United after controlling stake owners the Glazer family were reported to have asked for $6 billion.
(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)
