Saudi billionaire Alalshikh in Derby County talks after Man United takeover claim

Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi billionaire who publicly declared last October that Manchester United were at an advanced stage of completing a sale to a new investor, has since emerged as a potential backer of Championship club Derby County, with The Telegraph reporting that extensive discussions have taken place between the two parties.

Alalshikh, 44, made the Manchester United claim on social media, calling the reported news “the best news” he had heard that day and adding: “I hope he’s better than the previous owners.” He walked back the suggestion a day later, clarifying he was not the investor in question and that those involved were not from Saudi Arabia. “I’m posting this as a fan who wishes the deal to happen, though it might not necessarily happen,” he wrote, while describing what he called an “advanced negotiation phase with a new investor”.

No such United deal materialised, and attention has since shifted to Derby. The Telegraph reports that the extent of Alalshikh’s potential involvement with the Rams remains uncertain, and the Independent Football Regulator is said to be conducting due diligence on the Saudi official before any transaction could be approved.

Alalshikh holds a ministerial position advising the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia and heads the General Entertainment Authority, which oversees the country’s entertainment industry. His personal wealth was reported to exceed £2 billion as of 2024.

His interest in English football ownership is not new. He previously owned Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids and held Spanish second-tier club Almeria for six years before selling to a Saudi investment group last summer. Months after that sale, he denied reports linking him to Bristol City, posting on X: “It is not true that I will buy Bristol City FC.” Bristol City’s chief executive Tom Rawcliffe later confirmed the club had held conversations with him.

Derby’s current owner David Clowes is understood to plan to remain as chairman under any new arrangement, even if he no longer holds a majority shareholding. Speculation about Alalshikh’s interest in the Rams was initially sparked by supporters noticing he had followed several Derby fan accounts on X, prompting him to respond with a single word — “Derby” — accompanied only by a shrugging emoji.

Derby, like Bristol City, are seeking investment as they push for promotion to the Premier League from the Championship.