Another Premier League set for a foreign ownership from Middle-East

Another Premier League club could be passing into Middle-Eastern ownership after the official United Arab Emirates news agency reported that Ahmed bin Saqr al-Qassimi, a member of the UAE ruling family, had bought a majority stake in an unnamed club.

According to the unsourced report al-Qassimi, a member of the ruling family of Ras al-Khaimah, would be taking a 60 per cent stake and be appointed honorary chairman this week. A Premier League spokesman said they had no knowledge of an imminent takeover.

Ras al-Khaimah is one of seven members in the UAE federation which also includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Last year Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan bought Manchester City, while Portsmouth is the subject of a bid from another Abu Dhabi investor, Sulaiman al-Fahim.

A spokesman for al-Fahim denied Portsmouth was al-Qassimi’s target, while a source close to Anfield’s owners denied Liverpool was the club in question.

Should al-Qassimi take a stake in one of the British-owned clubs in the league it will make overseas investors a majority round the Premier League table.

Ten clubs are in foreign ownership: Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Sunderland, West Ham, Fulham and Manchester City.