MANAMA, 8 December 2003 — Two Saudi Arabian businesmen are in a consortium hoping to buy crisis-ridden UK premier football club Leeds United. The consortium is headed by Bahraini Sheikh Abdel Rahman bin Moubarak Al-Khalifa.
Sheikh Al-Khalifa, a member of the Bahraini royal family, said the consortium also includes an Asian company. The club is reportedly 78 million pounds ($135 million) in debt.
“The group put an offer to Leeds United and we are awaiting a reply in the next few days,” Al-Khalifa, a lifelong Leeds fan, told reporters.
“The two Saudis are notable personalities but there are no Arab shareholders in the Asian company.
“Another group has entered the race and also presented an offer to the club. I would urge the Leeds directors to make a decision as quickly as possible to allow us to buy new players when the transfer window opens on Jan. 1,” added Al-Khalifa.
The sheikh refused to divulge any details of the bid.
Sheikh Al-Khalifa said the improved performance of the team on the pitch in their two latest matches — beating highflying Charlton 1-0 and a 1-1 draw with leaders Chelsea — showed what a morale boost his interest in the club has had.
“Those results bear witness to the relief of the players that the announcement of an interest in investing in the club has had,” he said.
Earlier yesterday the side’s chairman, John McKenzie, said the club would be a prime investment for whoever wished to buy it. McKenzie, who replaced the free-spending Peter Ridsdale in the post after the latter accepted responsibility for the financial catastrophe that hit the club, believes Leeds are worth up to 60 million pounds ($90 million).
McKenzie, who has until Jan. 19 to either find a buyer for the troubled club or to negotiate and secure a longer-term deal with the creditors, believes either Sheikh Al-Khalifa or former Deputy Chairman Allan Leighton would be getting a good deal, and a profitable one at that.
