The Saudi sports marketer made the massive allegation on Wednesday evening.
According to Saudi entrepreneur Turki Alsheikh, Manchester United is ‘advanced stages of completing a deal to sell to a new investor’.
Alsheikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which is in charge of bringing high-profile sporting events to the nation, rose to prominence in the boxing scene.
The 44-year-old coordinates and co-promotes fights, leveraging his position and financial resources to bring significant bouts to Saudi Arabia as part of the Riyadh Season, which runs from October to March 2026.
However, he has recently been aggressively investigating opportunities to participate in other sports. Alsheikh has expressed interest in obtaining a stake in Matchroom Sport, a snooker and darts event promotion organisation.
And the Saudi billionaire has been linked with purchasing an English football team, with recent rumours claiming he is making a formal bid to buy Championship side Bristol City from the Lansdown family.
Now, the ambitious Alsheikh has made a massive allegation about a possible takeover attempt for Premier League heavyweights Manchester United.
On Wednesday evening, he said on social media site X: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in the advanced stages of completing a deal to sell to a new investor – I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”
It’s unclear whether Alsheikh’s comments have any substance, but his tweet has gotten a lot of attention, raising questions about Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers.
Ratcliffe closed a deal in February 2024 to acquire a 27.7% share in United, valued at more than £1 billion.
Alsheikh’s words came shortly after it was revealed that United are looking into playing a potentially lucrative mid-season friendly in Saudi Arabia during the Riyadh Season.
According to The Athletic, talks with relevant stakeholders are still in the early stages as the team explores ways to raise finances after missing out on European participation.
Ruben Amorim discusses mid-season friendly.
United failed to qualify for European football for the first time in 11 years, finishing 15th in the Premier League and losing the Europa League final against Tottenham.
As a result, the club lost over £100 million, though they are looking for ways to generate additional cash, including mid-season friendlies.
Ruben Amorim recently supported the idea of playing beyond their competitive schedule. “We have to do it,” he replied. “And you know, we knew we’d have a lot to accomplish after missing out on Europe.
“We have our fans, we have the budget, we have to compensate for a lot of things, so we have to do it,” Amorim went on. “We’ll do it.” We want to be with our followers all over the world. If you have to accomplish it, you must find the room to do so.”
United will have plenty of time to prepare on the training ground after failing to qualify for Europe. In fact, Amorim’s side will only play one midweek match before Christmas, a home match against West Ham on December 3.
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