Turki Alalshikh has been linked with a Millwall takeover.Turki Alalshikh has been linked with a Millwall takeover.
Turki Alalshikh has been linked with a Millwall takeover. | Getty Images
Saudi businessman Turki Alalshikh has made his interest in two Championship clubs public.
Millwall is a club that Saudi boxing tycoon Turki Alalshikh is ‘categorically’ interested in taking over with Championship rivals Southampton also on the investor’s shopping list as rumours gather pace.
It has emerged this month that Alalshikh is looking for a new sporting venture having recently sold La Liga 2 club Almeira after four years of investment. The 43-year-old is Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia and has made a name for himself by bringing high-profile boxing matches to the country.
The Sun had claimed that Alalshikh ‘held takeover talks’ with Millwall this month and those rumours were fuelled when the businessman was seen replying to a social media post from the Lions’ club account with a flame and lion emoji.
Turki Alalshikh ‘categorically’ interest in Millwall
Millwall has insisted that the club is not for sale and denied talks. Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday, Simon Jordan has given his insider update on the takeover talk. The former Crystal Palace owner claims to be in direct conversation with Alalshikh.
He said: “It’s not talk. They are interested because they’ve told me. I’ve told him and tried to talk him out of Millwall because I don’t think it’s a proper football club - but that’s a different discussion. It is Millwall and he likes Southampton.
“I suggested Sheffield Wednesday to him but he doesn’t want a club in the north, he wants a club in the south. Millwall and Southampton are the two clubs that are interesting to him. It’s not me breaching confidence, he’s asked me to say that.
“They like Millwall and I even got a phone call from Theo Paphitis at the weekend asking if it’s right. Whether the buy the club and like the indexing... he likes English sport. I don’t think they’ve approached Millwall but they are categorically interested.”
Saudi boxing tycoon boasts staggering net worth
Alalshikh previously worked in several government sectors in Saudi Arabia before being made an adviser to the royal court in 2015 and then a minister in 2017. He is the head of the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation and previously owned Egyptian football club Pyramids from 2018 to 2019.
Speaking to ESPN last year, the businessman said he plans to use his Saudi power to fix boxing, which he viewed as ‘broken’. Speaking after announcing his first boxing event outside of Saudi Arabia, Terrence Crawford v Israil Madrimov in Los Angeles this August, Alalshikh said: "We carefully planned our activities for the last six months.
"We are spending the money to [commercialize] our season and at the same time to test the market and know all the secrets about the market. And now we have a lot of information and we have our own studies and we think from what we tested in the last six months, there is big opportunity in boxing. ... But you must improve the market. You must fix all the problems."
Alalshikh has a reported net worth of £2.14 billion net worth thanks to his work in the Saudi government and his business exploits, as per SportsCasting.
In other news, Ex Millwall star consoled by Mo Salah after public criticism by Premier League manager.
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