Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has revealed that he has reached a deal with Newcastle owner, Mike Ashley, on taking over the club.
The Dubai-based tycoon, cousin of Manchester City owner, Sheik Mansour, and a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, said he has “agreed terms”, and is now attempting to “complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity”.
A statement released by the Bin Zayed Group, which Sheikh Khaled is chairman, said: “We can confirm that representatives of His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan are in discussions with Mike Ashley and his team, about the proposed acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club.
“We view it as an honour to have the opportunity to build on the strong support, history and tradition of the club.
“We have agreed terms and are working hard to complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity.”
Ashley, who bought the Magpies for £134.4million in 2007, has admitted he cannot afford to take the club to the next level, prompting him to put it up for sale for the third time during his tenure in October 2017.
He has always insisted that if somebody could provide the finance, he would be happy to sell. However, it remains to be seen if the deal will scale through.
Khaled was unable to complete a move for Liverpool last year, in a bid valued at around £2billion.
Newcastle is yet to make any official statement, although sources on Tyneside indicated that Khaled had expressed an interest, but that there was still a distance to go before a deal could be finalised.
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