Derby County and Abu Dhabi royal Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al are still in talks about the takeover of the club, with both sides keen on it to go through before Christmas.
The Rams announced six weeks ago that a deal had been agreed ‘in principle’ to sell to Derventio Holdings (UK) Limited – which lists Sheikh Khaled, the 61-year-old cousin of Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour, as a “person with significant control”.
In a statement both sides said: “In order to remove any ongoing speculation, both parties want to assure Derby County’s supporters that the acquisition of the club by Derventio Holdings is on track, with a view to completion before Christmas.
”Both parties will now return to applying their full attention to the completion of the deal and will not be making any further comment.”
Current owner Mel Morris has been looking for new investment for the past two years.
He is expected to step aside if the deal goes through – but could stay on in a consultancy role. Any deal would need approval from the EFL.
The United States-educated and Dubai-based sheikh’s money has snowballed since setting up the Bin Zayed Group in 1988, dealing in everything from construction and energy to technology and financial services.
The Abu Dhabi royal family’s net worth was put at £118bn in 2018.
Sheikh Khaled’s personal fortune is not widely reported.
In comparison, Stoke City’s owners – the Coates family – was put at £7.166bn in the Sunday Times Rich List for 2020. That was 16th in the UK, up £310m and three places from 2019 on the back of the continued success of bet365.
Barnsley owners International Investment Consortium, headed by Chien Lee, have a reported net worth of £6.9bn, although how this is totted up has never been particularly clear.
There’s £5.2bn Dejphon Chansiri at Sheffield Wednesday and Stephen Lansdowne has £1.87bn at Bristol City.
