The owner of newly promoted Premier League side Sheffield United is currently looking to sell the club. The Blades only just recently gained access back to the English top flight after finishing second in the Championship last season. Sheffield United last played in the Premier League during the 2021/22 campaign.
Nevertheless, Bloomberg is now reporting that Saudi Prince Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud wants to sell the team. The businessman previously purchased a 50% stake in the club back in 2013. Former Blades co-owner Kevin McCabe then offered to sell his remaining shares of the team to the Saudi Prince. Abdullah bin Musaid Al Saud agreed and officially took over full ownership of United in late 2017.
Blades have gone through financial difficulties as of late
Promotion for the club has come at a particularly opportune time. The Blades have endured a tough financial situation in recent years. In fact, the team was given a transfer ban just last year for failing to pay installments on former transfer agreements. Gaining promotion back to the Premier League gives the club a significant financial boost. However, the current ownership is still looking to make a profit by selling the team.
The aforementioned news source claims that United’s owner is expecting to ask for about $221 million to sell the club. This valuation would be higher than what businessman Bill Foley paid for Bournemouth back in December. The American reportedly spent up to $186 million to acquire the South Coast club.
Club CEO breaks silence on ordeal
Sheffield United’s CEO Stephen Bettis recently spoke to Sky Sports on the issue. “There’s no secret that our owner would consider selling the club. He’s made that publicly known, so I’m not telling you something that you don’t already know,” stated Bettis. “But what I will say is that he’s looking for the right person to take over the club. There have been obviously been discussions, interested parties, but they never got across the final hurdle.”
Sheffield United currently have six preseason friendlies on the fixture list ahead of the 2023/14 season. Their first game will come against National League side Chesterfield on Saturday, July 15th. So far, Anis Slimane has been the only summer signing by the Blades up until this point. The Tunisia international just joined the club for an undisclosed fee on Thursday.
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