Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has refuted viral reports that he intends to buy Manchester United.
In a tweet on Monday, his media minister Turki al-Shabanah said the information was “completely false”.
A report in the English press claimed that Prince bin Salman was pursuing a deal worth £3.8billion to take over United.
He added: “Manchester United held a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund to discuss sponsorship opportunity. No deal has been materialised.”
Reports claiming that HRH the Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman intends on buying @ManUtd are completely false. Manchester United held a meeting with @PIFSaudi to discuss sponsorship opportunity . No deal has been materialized.
— تركي الشبانه (@TurkiAlshabanah) February 17, 2019
United was bought by the Glazer family in 2005 in a £790m deal. The club is now valued at more than £3billion, but it is understood it would take an offer starting at £4billion to even be considered.
The club has links with Saudi Arabia already, having signed a deal with the nation’s Government in 2017 to help develop their football infrastructure.