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English club Millwall FC rubbishes reports of takeover by Saudi boxing mogul Turki Alalshikh
English football club Millwall has denied a recent report that Saudi Arabia is set to invest in the Championship side.
Millwall told The New Arab that there "is no substance regarding any takeover talks", and stressed that "the club is not for sale" amid recent speculation of Saudi interest in the side.
On Thursday, the UK Daily Mail tabloid said the southeast London club was in talks with Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi General Entertainment Authority chairman who has spearheaded the country’s investment in boxing and other entertainment fields.
Alalshikh was also the owner and president of Spanish second division club Almeria until last week, and previously owned Egyptian club Pyramids from 2018 to 2019.
He also served as Saudi Pro League side Al-Taawoun’s honorary president.
The report suggested that Millwall and several other English sides are vying to secure Saudi investment, akin to the 2021 Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) takeover of Newcastle United.
The PIF owns 85 percent of the club, while Saudi Arabian businessman Yasir Al-Rumayyan chairs the Magpies, as they are nicknamed.
Speculations of a Saudi takeover were fuelled after Alalshikh replied and reacted to several Millwall FC posts on social media on Thursday.
The rumours were also heightened after Daily Mail Sport columnist Simon Jordan claimed Alalshikh had asked him about purchasing an English football club. Jordan reportedly advised him to buy Sheffield Wednesday, who finished four places below Millwall in the Championship.
Millwall FC has continued to be owned by Millwall Holdings since 2007, after John Berylson took over the club. Beryslon’s son James currently chairs Millwall, following the death of his father in 2023.
Alalshikh has an estimated net worth of $2.8 billion. His tenure as the entertainment authority’s chairman has seen him broker several boxing matches and have them held in the Gulf kingdom.
The Saudi businessman has also ventured into the world of cinema and has worked to expand Saudi Arabia’s entertainment, sports, and tourism sectors as part of the Vision 2030 initiative. The scheme aims to diversify Saudi Arabia’s economy and to steer away from reliance on oil production.
However, Riyadh’s hosting of sporting and entertainment events, as well as attracting high-profile footballers from Europe to its league, has been labelled as sports-washing in a bid to distract from its poor human rights record.