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NEWCASTLE SET TO LEAD THE ALTERNATIVE ‘PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE’

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Newcastle are closing in on a major takeover deal that could see them top the table for the wealthiest owners in the Premier League.

Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to take over the Magpies from Mike Ashley in a £300million transaction.

The proposed Saudi Arabian deal would see Manchester City, one of the most valuable sporting franchises in the world, knocked off top spot.

Topping the Premier League rich list is quite the feat as England’s top-flight generates 72 per cent more revenue than its nearest competitor, the Bundesliga in Germany. 

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The English Premiership wealth table

Sportsmail has ranked the owners of every club by their estimated wealth based on Newcastle’s lucrative takeover going through…

1. NEWCASTLE – SAUDI ARABIA PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND (£320BN)

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British brothers Simon and David Reuben – billionaire property developers with North-East links – are said to be taking a 10 per cent stake in the club – but the big money is arriving from Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) is looking to take over Newcastle for £300 million

That 10 per cent for the Reuben brothers will be the stake that Amanda Staveley is currently holding.

While the remaining 80 per cent will be taken by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which is said to control assets worth £320bn.

2. MANCHESTER CITY – SHEIKH MANSOUR (£23.3BN)

Sheikh Mansour has turned Manchester City into one of the world’s biggest sporting franchises having taken the club over in 2008.

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Sheikh Mansour has spent more than £1.6bn over the first decade of owning the Manchester City

Since arriving to replace former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, City have gone on to win four English Premier League titles, four League Cups and two FA Cups.

Such success has caused City Football Group’s value to skyrocket to £4.8bn – making them one of the most valuable sporting franchises in the world.

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Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, has spent more than £1.6bn over the first decade of owning the club.

He is chairman of International Petroleum Investment Company and also has a stake in Richard Branson’s space tourism programme, Virgin Galactic.

3. CHELSEA – ROMAN ABRAMOVICH (£9.6BN)

Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140m when the club was on the brink of bankruptcy. 

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Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140m during their financial difficulty

The 51-year-old billionaire has transformed the English outfit into one of the biggest and best clubs in the world through his enormous investment in the squad.

With a portfolio of assets worth £9.6bn, he has earned the reputation as one of the richest men on the planet.

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Abramovich made his fortune in the oil business, selling his stake in the Russian gas company Gazprom in 2005. He still owns stakes in steel and nickel companies among his other business ventures.

4. ARSENAL – STAN KROENKE (£6.8BN)

The Missouri billionaire is a real estate and sports mogul with an international portfolio. He married Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974 and later founded Kroenke Group in 1983.

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Stan Kroenke first became involved in Arsenal in 2007 before taking over control in 2011

His sports empire also includes the LA Rams (NFL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Rapids (MLS), Colorado Avalanche (NHL) and Arsenal FC.

He first became involved in Arsenal in 2007 before assuming majority control in 2011.

5. WOLVES – GUO GUANGCHANG (£5.2BN)

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Guo Guangchang took over Wolves in 2016 after making a substantial investment in the club.

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Guo Guangchang took over Wolves in 2016 after making a substantial investment into the club

He is chairman of the Fosun Group and turned the company into an insurance-focused investment group.

Fosun’s investments range from steelmaking to mining, tourism and pharmaceuticals.

6. ASTON VILLA – NASSEF SAWIRIS (£5BN)

Nassef Sawiris replaced Tony Xia as Aston Villa owner in July 2018 when he claimed 55 per cent of the controlling stake.

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Nassef Sawiris replaced Tony Xia as Aston Villa owner in July 2018, claiming 55 per cent stake

Sawiris is from one of Egypt’s wealthiest families and owns numerous construction, engineering and building companies.

His holdings include stakes in cement giant Lafarge Holcim and adidas; he sits on the supervisory board of sports giant adidas.

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7. LEICESTER – AIYAWATT SRIVADDHANAPRABHA (£4.6BN)

Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, known as Top, became the CEO and chairman of their family company King Power and chairman of Leicester after his father Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died.

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Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha (right) became owner after his father Vichai (left) died in 2018

Vichai, two members of his staff, the pilot and a passenger died in a helicopter crash leaving the club after a match in October 2018.

Their family company has an estimated annual revenue of $3.2bn (£2.5bn) and is the country’s leading operator of airport duty-free stores.

8. TOTTENHAM – JOE LEWIS (£3.9BN)

Having originally been born above a pub in London’s East End, Joe Lewis went on to become a billionaire.

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English National Investment Company, which Lewis owns 70.6 per cent of, bought a controlling stake in Tottenham in 2001 from Lord Alan Sugar.

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Having originally been born above a pub in London’s East End, Joe Lewis is now a billionaire

Joe Lewis owns the Tavistock Group, with more than 200 assets across 10 countries. Those assets include sports teams, energy companies, restaurants and luxury properties.

He has a variety of other investments including luxury club resort Albany, restaurants, hotels, and even an Australian agriculture firm.

9. MANCHESTER UNITED – THE GLAZER FAMILY (£3.6BN)

The Glazer family have owned Manchester United after Malcolm Glazer bought the club for £1.1bn. Malcolm was the primary stakeholder until he died in 2014.

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Joel Glazer (right) now holds that majority stake and is the new owner of Manchester United

His sons, Avram and Joel, have since stepped up as co-chairmen, with the family controlling 83 per cent of the voting power in the publicly traded team.

The person with the most shares in the club is Joel Glazer. He is among 23 other executive management members, but he holds the most power. Others include: Avram Glazer, Kevin Glazer, Bryan Glazer and Edward Glazer

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10. SOUTHAMPTON – GAO JISHENG (£3.1BN)

Gao Jisheng became majority owner of Southampton in 2017 when he completed a £210m deal, acquiring an 80 per cent of the club.

The investment was made personally by Jisheng and his daughter Nelly as opposed to being sanctioned through Lander Sports.

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Gao Jisheng became majority owner (80%) of Southhampton in 2017 through a £210m deal

Jisheng was the founder of Lander Sports Development until last year when he sold enough shares to lose control of the real-estate company.

11. CRYSTAL PALACE – JOSHUA HARRIS (£2.7BN)

Joshua Harris is an American private equity investor that co-founded Apollo Global Management – one of the world’s largest alternative investment firms.

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Joshua Harris has stakes in Crystal Palace, Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils

Harris owns an 18 per cent stake in Crystal Palace and is the principal shareholder of both the NHL team New Jersey Devils and NBA team Philadelphia 76ers as of 2011.

12. LIVERPOOL – JOHN W HENRY (£2.1BN)

John W Henry is the principle owner of Liverpool, having the most significant financial stake in Fenway Sports Group, which bought Liverpool in 2010.

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John W Henry owns Liverpool as he has the largest financial stake in Fenway Sports Group

Henry has a passion for sports and also owns the prolific Boston Red Sox team in Major League Baseball.

He made his wealth through founding the investment management company, John W. Henry & Company.

13. WEST HAM – DAVID SULLIVAN AND DAVID GOLD (£1.6BN) 

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has seen his wealth increase by £50m over the past 12 months, while David Gold has seen his raise by £10m – according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

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West Ham co-owner David Sullivan and David Gold have seen their wealth increase this year

Gold and Sullivan acquired a 50 per cent share in West Ham in January 2010 and then purchased a further 10 per cent a few months later – Sullivan holds 51 per cent of those shares and Gold owns 35 per cent.

Sullivan and Gold’s first business venture together was in pornography.

Sullivan started selling soft pornography photos and expanded into sex shops, adult magazines and several low-budget blue movies. He became a millionaire by the age of 25.

Gold owns Gold Group International, the parent company of Ann Summers and he previously co-owned adult magazine company Gold Star Publications with his brother.

14. EVERTON – FARHAD MOSHIRI (£1.5BN) 

Having previously been involved with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, Farhad Moshiri sold his stake in the club to raise the capital he needed to launch a takeover of Everton.

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Farhad Moshiri sold his stake in Arsenal to raise the capital to launch a takeover of Everton

He successfully took over the Toffees in February 2016.

Moshiri made his money from owning and having shares in numerous steel and energy companies in the UK and Russia.

15. BRIGHTON – TONY BLOOM (£1.3BN)

Tony Bloom is thought to have acquired most of his wealth through online gambling and gaming websites and he even finished fourth at the World Series of Poker in 2005.

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Tony Bloom is thought to have acquired his wealth through online gambling and gaming

Bloom acquired even more wealth through property and start-up investments he involved himself with.

He became the chairman of Brighton in 2009 and has taken the club from League One to the Premier League. 

16. BOURNEMOUTH – MAXIM DEMIN (£900M)

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The Russian businessman became a co-owner of the south-coast club in 2011 when they were in League One and assumed full ownership of the club in 2013.

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Maxim Demin became a co-owner of Bournemouth in 2011 and assumed full ownership in 2013

He is known to have at least two companies in the UK, those being Wintel (a petrochemical company) and Wintel Holdings Ltd.

17. SHEFFIELD UNITED – PRINCE ABDULLAH BIN MUSA’AD (£198M)

The Sheffield United owner is the son of Prince Musa’id bin Abdulaziz Al Said and accumulated his wealth by setting up a paper manufacturing company in 1989. 

The Saudi prince recently won a High Court battle over the control of Premier League side Sheffield United.

Kevin McCabe and the Prince were locked in a legal battle over their 50-50 ownership of the club last year. The court ruled that McCabe’s shares in the club had to be sold to Price Abdullah for £5m.

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18. WATFORD – GINO POZZO (£93M)

The Pozzo family bought Watford from Laurence Bassini in 2012, but it is Gino Pozzo that has full ownership and control over the club.

He managed to buy the club from the profits of their family tool-making business, Freud. 

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Gino Pozzo (left) has full ownership and control over the club after his family bought it in 2012

He also is the son of Italian businessman Giampaolo Pozzo, who is currently the owner of Serie A club Udinese and the previous owner of LaLiga side Granada.

19. BURNLEY – MIKE GARLICK (£62M)

Mike Garlick became the sole chairman of the Clarets in 2015 when co-chairman John Banaszkiewicz stepped down from the role.

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Mike Garlick became sole chairman of Burnley back in 2015 when John Banaszkiewicz left

As founder and CEO of Michael Bailey Associates – a project management and consultancy company – Garlick made his wealth by establishing an international company with a portfolio of top tier clients. 

20. NORWICH – DELIA SMITH AND MICHAEL WYNN-JONES (£23M)

Delia Smith and Michael Wynn-Jones are majority shareholders of the Canaries and have been since 1996.

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Delia Smith made her £28million net worth being an English cook and television presenter

Smith made her £28m net worth being an English cook and television presenter best known for teaching cookery.

Wynn-Jones made his wealth by establishing New Crane Publishing and subsequently selling it for around £7m and remaining in the industry as a consultant.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Governing Bodies

Nigeria  becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council

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Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.

The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).

The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.

 Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.

He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.

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An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.

He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.

“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”

Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.

“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.

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He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.

“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.

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Ex-FIFA Council member and Mali football chief released from jail

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A former member of the FIFA Council, Mamoutou Toure, has been released from jail in Mali after almost two years in detention for alleged corruption, Malian media reports said on Wednesday.

Toure, president of the Malian Football Federation since 2019, was released after 622 days in prison on Tuesday.

He served on the FIFA Council, world football’s all-powerful decision-making body, for four years until last month when he lost his seat after failing to contest new elections.

The 67-year-old was arrested in August 2023 on allegations of embezzling $28 million of public funds but was granted a provisional release order by the Malian courts, reports said.

He was accused of misconduct during his time as the National Assembly’s financial and administrative director from 2013-2019.

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Toure denied all charges and, during his time in jail, was last August re-elected as Malian Football Federation president for a second consecutive term, with his supporters claiming he was a victim of a conspiracy fuelled by detractors.

While in jail, he received a letter of support from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. However, as of last month, Toure is no longer a member of the FIFA Council or the Confederation of African Football’s executive committee.

-Reuters

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Governing Bodies

Nigeria Football Federation denies owing late national captain and coach, Chukwu

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The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports of an outstanding debt to former captain Christian Chukwu and has challenged anyone with verifiable documents to prove otherwise.

Chukwu, a former national team captain and chief coach, died last Saturday.

The Nigeria Football Federation decried statements in a section of social media that the football-ruling body was indebted to the deceased.

 Reacting to one statement on social media that claimed NFF owed the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations-winning team captain the sum of $128,000, NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, said: “There is no record in the NFF of any outstanding indebtedness to ‘Chairman’ Christian Chukwu.

“During the first term of the Board headed by Amaju Pinnick, a committee was set up to diligently peruse the papers of coaches who were being owed, even from previous NFF administrations.

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“That committee was given the clear mandate to verify all debts and ensure that the coaches being owed were paid immediately. I am aware that the ‘Chairman’ was in the employ of the NFF between 2002 and 2005, before he was relieved of the post following the 1-1 draw with Angola in a FIFA World Cup qualifying match in Kano in August 2005. There is certainly no record of indebtedness to him in the NFF.”

Sanusi challenged anyone with genuine and verifiable documents of NFF indebtedness to any coach, who has worked with any of the National Teams over the past two decades, to come forward and tender those documents.

“As a credible organization that is very much alive to its responsibilities, if we are confronted with any genuine document of indebtedness to any coach, we will offset the debt immediately.”       

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