Sheikh Mansour almost bought Newcastle before Man City
Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan could have bought Newcastle United before purchasing the Cityzens it has been claimed.
Sheikh Mansour bought City in 2008 and has overseen the club’s rise to a Premier League powerhouse and a European contender in the 10 years he has been in charge.
However, an ongoing court case claims the Sheikh came close to purchasing Newcastle instead, according to the Manchester Evening News.
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Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is currently suing his ex-business partner, the former Magpies vice-president Tony Jimenez. During analysis of issues before the trial, Jimenez’s lawyer, Adam Johnson QC, said Mansour was interested in buying Newcastle but the deal didn’t go through because Ashley didn’t want to deal with him.
“Mr Ashley refused to meet a potential buyer who went on to purchase Manchester City Football Club,” Johnson said.
It was then claimed that Ashley further hampered his chances of selling Newcastle by creating a disturbance in a bar in Dubai.
“He (Jimenez) lined up some further potential buyers and Mr Ashley then visited Dubai between September 13 and 18 2008 in order to meet them,” Johnson added.
“Mr Jimenez says that on the evening of September 16 2008, Mr Ashley created a disturbance in a bar in Dubai.
“Although Mr Jimenez helped Mr Ashley minimise the impact of the trouble, it again ruined the potential sale of Newcastle United Football Club that Mr Jimenez had lined up.”
The news will not be pleasant viewing for Newcastle fans who have been in a long-running battle to get Ashley out of the club and who have seen City win three Premier League titles, an FA Cup and three League Cups in the same time the Magpies have been relegated twice.
