The Saudi government has officially denied reports the country’s ambitious crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as the MbS, intended to buy UK football club Manchester United.
Saudi media minister Turki al-Shabanah said on Monday that reports in the British media over the weekend suggesting that Salman was preparing an offer of £3.8-billion ($4.9-billion) for purchase of Manchester United FC was “completely false”.
The Sun newspaper said in a report on Sunday that MbS was desperate to own MUTD, a club seen by many as the most popular in the world of football.
The report said the American owners of the British club have been shuttling to Saudi Arabia over the past months to discuss a final deal. It said MbS had neared the purchase in the summer but negotiations stopped after it emerged that MbS ordered the assassination of a prominent Saudi journalist in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
Shabanah said that trips by…