Could the Red Devils be set to join their cross-city rivals in being financed by Middle East oil money?
The future ownership of Manchester United has been the subject of speculation ever since reports emerged that the club was about to be taken over by a Saudi prince.
In early 2019, British newspaper the Sun reported that Mohammed bin Salman, known colloquially as MBS, was ready to launch a £3.8 billion ($4.9bn) takeover bid, with the aim of becoming the owner of the Premier League club by the 2019-20 season.
The suggestion in the report is that MbS is eager to go head to head with Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour, who has presided over a transformation in the blue half of the city.
While the report was subsequently denied by the Saudi minister for media, Turki Al-Shabanah, he did admit that a meeting had taken place between United officials and the Saudi ‘public investment fund’.
Mohammed bin Salman – full name Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and heir apparent to current King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
He is currently the first deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia, a position he has held since June 2017, following the removal of Muhammed bin Nayef from all positions by the royal decree of King Salman.
MBS is also the state’s minister of defence and, given the fact that King Salman is suffering from Alzheimer’s, he is the de facto leader of the nation.
A period of liberalisation has come to pass during Prince Mohammed’s tenure and he has been praised for developments such as the permitted attendance pof women at football matches and the end of a ban on female drivers.
Nevertheless, despite the positivity surrounding such social advances, plenty of criticism is still levelled at Saudi Arabia.
“The news that prince Mohammed bin Salman desires to acquire Manchester United is completely untrue news,” Al-Shabanah said in a message posted on Twitter.
“The fact of the matter is that the club held a meeting with the public investment fund to discuss an advertisement sponsorship project.
“The fund listened to the proposals as [it would] any other”.
So, who is the man who has been linked with a lucrative takeover of the Red Devils?