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Is Manchester United Being Sold? What the Saudi Official Claimed

A Saudi official claimed Manchester United was at an advanced stage of a sale in October 2025. Club sources rejected the claim, and no buyer was identified.
From TheFinanceBase Team3 min to read
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There was no confirmed Manchester United sale in the reporting behind the October 2025 claim. Saudi official Turki Alalshikh said the club was at an “advanced stage” of selling to a new investor, but Manchester United sources rejected that claim. Alalshikh later said he was not the investor and that the investor was not Saudi. That reporting does not establish whether separate talks have emerged since.

What was claimed—and what Manchester United sources said

On 9 October 2025, BBC Sport reported that Alalshikh had posted: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor. I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

In a later post, Alalshikh said he was not the “new investor,” adding “nor are they from my nation.” BBC Chief Football News Reporter Simon Stone reported that “Multiple sources close to United said the claim was untrue.” The BBC also said no deals were active at the time of its reporting. That is a statement about October 2025, not a confirmation of the club’s position today.

Read BBC Sport’s report of 9 October 2025.

Who was the investor?

The reporting did not name a buyer or establish that a sale process was underway. Alalshikh’s clarification ruled himself out and said the investor was not Saudi, but did not identify the person or entity. There are no confirmed competing buyers in the reporting cited here, so there is no reliable basis for comparing bidders or their proposals.

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What ownership looked like in the 2025 report

BBC Sport’s October 2025 account said Sir Jim Ratcliffe held a 28.94% stake after investing about £1.3bn. INEOS had control of football operations, while the Glazer family retained input. Those are figures and arrangements described in that 2025 report, not a verified update on ownership since then.

The same article said Ratcliffe paid $33 per share and discussed a drag-on clause. It also cited a $3.2bn (£2.39bn) value for listed sporting events attributed to Alalshikh in connection with Riyadh Season. That figure was not a valuation of Manchester United.

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Why Alalshikh’s role does not verify the claim

BBC Sport described Alalshikh as a Saudi government official and prominent boxing figure. Its profile said he chaired the General Sports Authority from 2017 and became chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in 2018. It also reported that he owned Spanish club Almeria from 2019 until earlier in 2025, and Egyptian club Pyramids FC from 2018 to 2019. These roles provide sporting and entertainment context; they do not independently substantiate his statement about United.

The BBC report also noted historic commercial connections between Manchester United and Saudi entities: a 2017 memorandum of understanding with the General Sports Authority, and a Saudi Telecom sponsorship that began in 2008 and was extended in 2013. Those past links are not evidence of a takeover.

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Would a Saudi-linked bid face an ownership complication?

BBC Sport raised a potential multi-club ownership issue if a Saudi-linked buyer were involved, noting that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund had run Newcastle since 2021 and was associated with four Saudi Pro League clubs. The article treated Premier League approval as uncertain. It did not establish a regulatory decision on any hypothetical Manchester United bid, and the investor Alalshikh described was said not to be Saudi.

What is known about a sale now?

The direct reporting cited here is dated 9 October 2025. It records a claim, a rejection from sources close to the club, and Alalshikh’s clarification; it does not establish that a sale was underway then, nor does it resolve whether separate talks began later. A 2026 Manchester United filing surfaced in search results, but its available snippet did not verify the existence or absence of later sale negotiations.

For any future sale report, the useful checks are who is making the claim, whether there is evidence of a formal process, whether the proposal is for a full sale or a minority investment, who ultimately owns the proposed buyer, what the club says, and whether league or regulatory approval is required.

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