Turki Al Sheikh’s net worth reportedly pales in comparison to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s. Saudi Arabia’s billionaire sports chief recently sent a cryptic message about a possible takeover offer. Manchester United are currently in a situation where the Glazer family can sell their entire stake in the club due to ‘drag-along’ rights being triggered.
This represents standard business practice to prevent major shareholders from becoming trapped by the demands of minority shareholders. Even though the Glazer family had the authority to sell from under Ratcliffe, discussion of the matter was kept to a minimum until Wednesday evening.
Saudi entrepreneur Al Sheikh has hinted in an unexpected social media post that the club could soon be taken over by new investors.
“The best news I’ve heard today is that Manchester United are now in advanced stages of completing a sale to new investors,” he wrote. “I hope he’s better than the previous owner.”
Al Sheikh will be familiar to boxing fans as he has several super fights planned, including Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk and Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrence Crawford.
He founded Riyadh Season, a collection of entertainment, cultural and sporting events aimed at promoting Saudi Arabia.
He has also managed to attract investment from professional wrestling giant WWE and hosts several premium live events (PLE or PPV) in the country.
In addition to martial arts, Al-Sheikh also dabbles in soccer, buying Spanish club Almeria in 2019.
Last year, CEO Today reported that his net worth was estimated at around $2.8 billion (£2.08 billion). To put this into context, Forbes estimates that Ratcliffe’s current worth is a staggering $17.2 billion (£12.8 billion).
The Glazer family is thought to have a combined net worth of $10bn (£7.46bn), according to Forbes.
He did not suggest he was someone looking to buy United, but Al Sheikh is unlikely to be able to do so even if he wanted to.
Obviously, his financial assets do not come close to those of the club’s current owners. His best option would be to form part of a consortium, but there is no suggestion he has a firm interest in owning the Reds.
