Huge news has emerged on Halloween Eve, that Sheikh Khaled moves on from that proposed Newcastle takeover to Derby County.
Reports have come to light, stating that the senior member of the Abu Dhabi royal family who recently failed in taking over the Magpies is now interested in the Championship club.
Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan, who is in fact the cousin of Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour, owns the Bin Zayed Group, which is a Dubai-based conglomerate.
Strong reports from @TheAthleticUK that Sheikh Khaled is looking to takeover Derby County ?
He recently tried to complete deals for Newcastle United and has an estimated worth of £118bn ?
How do you feel about that, Rams fans? #CCP | #DCFC pic.twitter.com/7Hs6owSudD
— The ChampionshipChat Podcast (@ChampChatPod) October 30, 2020
As we all know, Mel Morris in the current owner of the Rams, buying the club back in 2015.
However, The Athletic understands he is keen to sell at least a significant chunk of the club since last season.
It was in September that Sheikh Khaled became interested in the club with Derventio Holdings (UK) Limited registered at Companies House with three directors: Bin Zayed Group managing director Midhat Kamil Kidwai and two Swiss-based British entrepreneurs, Andrew Obolensky and Christopher Samuelson. Sheikh Khaled was listed as a “person with significant control”.
Derventio was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today the area is known as Little Chester, on the outskirts of Derby.
Representatives of the new company are understood to have attended Derby’s recent league fixture against Watford.
Cast your mind back to 2018, Sheikh Khaled was interesting in Liverpool however put in a bid that turned out to be unsuccessful.
That was reportedly worth around £2 billion, before going on to place an offer of £350 million for Newcastle in 2019.
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Christopher Samuelson has has previous experience within English football, having has something to do with Russian businessman Anton Zingarevich’s takeover of Reading in 2012 and again in 2016 with purchase of Aston Villa by a Chinese consortium led by Tony Xia.
He was also behind various failed investment, with Everton in 2004 and also an unsuccessful bid for Bristol Rovers in 2015, as The Athletic report.
Mel Morris sealed a deal for the Championship club from Andy Appleby’s American Partners group in 2015, but is known to be trying to sell a big stake for around a year now, with Henry Gabay, a financier, and Foster Gillett, the son of ex-Liverpool co-owner George Gillett, among those interested in buying Derby.
Derby have been playing second tier football since their horror season in the Premier League back in 2007/08, when they picked up one win and eight draws in 38 league matches.
According to the most recent edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, Morris is worth more than £500 million, largely due to his part in the company which created the much loved android game Candy Crush.
Though not all is great on the football side of thing, Derby have spent 13 seasons in a row away from the big time, more recently they’ve lost a large amount, notably spending large fees on transfer fees and wages yet have constantly bottled it, failing promotion from the playoffs four times now in the last six years.
Last year, Morris sold the club’s Pride Park stadium to another company he owns for £81 million – that helped Derby avoid breaching of the English Football League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
Neither the Bin Zayed Group nor Samuelson have responded to requests for comment, but we’re sure we haven’t heard the last of this.
Fans reacted to reports that Sheikh Khaled moves on from that proposed Newcastle takeover to Derby instead…
Dont hold your breath derby fans, they have a history of cocking things up.
— Jack ?? (@jchaytor16) October 30, 2020
— LA Gurney (@leegurney) October 30, 2020
Wait.. so this is actually genuine ? what the FUCK!
— Stephen Pickering (@StephenPaul91) October 30, 2020
— Ben Holmes (@Benh2390) October 30, 2020
You love to see it pic.twitter.com/Wlw4Y6sJRC
— Jake (@robertswjake) October 30, 2020
— Jacob Hackett (@jhackett__) October 30, 2020
— Jack Beighton (@JackBeighton) October 30, 2020
Rooney’s Derby County back to the PL? pic.twitter.com/ynKi1bZUhO
— Big H. (@Hxnz99) October 30, 2020
Champions league rams ?
— George (@dcfcGeorge_) October 30, 2020
Got to be pleased if this does actually happen. Hoping Mel keeps some sort of role with the club. The amount of money he has chucked at the club is frightening. He’s Derby through & through aswell. The academy wouldn’t be where it is today without his backing. #dcfc https://t.co/MJhgdnwpND
— Keith Butler (@keithbut83) October 30, 2020
Pros: Oil money will probably bring the club I love promotion and success
Cons: Money is ruining football and it’s shit
— Joe Pinkstone (@JoePinkstone) October 30, 2020
Yeh, he fucked you lot around so much. Not sure it will be good for Derby. We’ve had enough issues lately. Unless they’re serious and get it done, no thanks.
— Bᴇɴ (@BenjaminJJ03) October 30, 2020
Won’t be saying that when we’re all in the nou camp for a champions league quarter final, I have no problem with selling our soul ?
— Alex Godfrey (@AlexGodfrey94) October 30, 2020
that Samuelson’s record is absolutely horrendous. Reading and Villa nearly went bust with the takeovers that he was involved in. I’d be steering well clear of that one
— Joel Moore (@jmDCFC) October 30, 2020
Sheikh now interesting in a takeover at Derby after that failed one with Newcastle, woooow ??
— Jason Lee ?? (@ForeverAYellow) October 30, 2020
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