Saudi Arabia’s sports minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal has revealed that the state would be willing to support any potential bids for Premier League giants Liverpool and Manchester United, both of whom have been put up for sale since the beginning of the season.
Fenway Sports Group announced that “we would consider new shareholders if it was in the best interests of Liverpool as a club”, while last week Manchester United became another potential asset, with the Glazer family announcing earlier this week that “the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) is commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives for the club”, leaving two of England’s top six up for grabs.
And, with the Saudi Investment fund have already backed a takeover of Newcastle United 12 months ago, Prince Adbulaziz has revealed that the PIF would be keen on expanding their involvement in the Premier League and would back further investment in England’s top flight.
“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and there’s a lot of passion about football”, he explained.
“It’s the most-watched league in Saudi and the region and you have a lot of fans of the Premier League.
“We will definitely support it if any [Saudi] private sector comes in, because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom.
They are by no means the only interested party, with both English billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and tech giants Apple having shown interest in coming to the table for the Red Devils.
However, with United reportedly priced at £5bn by the Glazers, it will require serious backing to make a takeover happen.
