Saints supporters who are disillusioned with Sport Republic might be happy to hear that according to Simon Jordan on Talksport, a very rich Saudi Arabian is interested in either Southampton or Millwall.

footballleagueworld.co.uk are quoting former Crystal Palace Chairman Simon Jordan as claiming that "Saudi billionaire Turki Al-Sheikh is actively exploring the possibility of purchasing an English football club, with Southampton and Millwall emerging as frontrunners."

Initially Turki Al-Sheikh was steered in the direction of Sheffield Wednesday, but he has turned that down as he wishes to invest in a club in the South of England and Saints & Millwall are in the frame

“No it’s not talk, they are interested because they’ve told me.” Simon Jordan revealed on talkSPORT.

“I’ve told them - or tried to talk them out of Millwall, because I don’t think it’s a proper football club but that’s a different discussion.

“But it is Millwall - and he likes Southampton. I suggested Sheffield Wednesday to him, he doesn’t want Sheffield Wednesday.

“He doesn’t want a club in the North. He wants a club in the South, and Millwall and Southampton are the clubs he thinks are interesting to him.”

Our prospective owner already has had two clubs under his belt, Spanish side UD Almería, which he bought in 2019, and he previously held stakes in Egypt’s Pyramids FC.

But here the alarm bells might start ringing, at UD Almeira he is said to have a very hands on approach to player recruitment and management decisions and that doesn't sound good.

Initially it went well and the Spanish side gained promotion to the top tier in 2022, but there 17th finish in La Liga the following season saw them just about avoid relegation.

IN 2023/24 they started the season with a record of 28 games without a win so it was no shock that they were relegated at the end of the season.

This season they have fared a little better in the 2nd tier and currently sit 6th.

However it is said that in the past weeks Saudi investment consortium SMC Group, led by Mohammed Al-Khereiji, are acquiring the club from Turki Al-Sheikh.

He has a personal wealth of somewhere between £2-3 billion depending on what website you believe and that may increase with the sale of Almeira.

As is being reported outside of football, Al-Sheikh is becoming one of the most influential figures in global sport as Saudi Arabia looks to build it's foothold in sport across the World.

As Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, he has been pivotal in bringing major events such as heavyweight boxing bouts, Formula 1 races, and WWE shows to the kingdom and now it seems that he is ready to enter English football.

But is this a good or bad thing, whilst it would bring investment into the club, it would be an either bigger gamble than staying with Sport Republic, who in recent months have been showing that they have learned a lesson or two and are now leaving the footballing side of things to those who know what they are doing.

I am sure that for some it would be a case of anyone but Sport Republic, but as we have found in the past, when someone comes in throwing money around, it does not often end well unless you are Manchester City.

All Photos Via Reuters

Bowlercow added 16:50 - May 27 No thanks If we are going to change owners I don't want it to be done with "dirty money"
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kingolaf added 17:01 - May 27 No thanks. Don’t want the sportswashers anywhere near us.
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arfurdent added 17:08 - May 27 I remember when they tried injecting sand into the Dell pitch to improve the drainage. For the first few home games it looked like the Gobi dessert. Rather not go back to that.
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Block8 added 17:10 - May 27 Agree Bowlercow, as much as I would like us to be successful, I don't want my club to be part of sports washing! PSR rules dictate that we can't spend more than we generate so a rich Saudi isn't the promised land that many believe. Whether it was by intention or not FFP/PSR has ensured the clubs that have made it to the top, remain there whilst others need to build slowly due to the quite severe restrictions.

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Bawdrip added 17:21 - May 27 Please no! Last thing we need.
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JoeEgg added 18:53 - May 27 Never thought I would say stick with SR - the guy would be much better of at Millwall!
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YosemiteSaint added 19:23 - May 27 Unfortunately, for us to compete in the Premier League it'd take that kind of dirty money—which is another reason why i'm looking forward to plying our trade in the Championship. It's not glitzy; it'll just do. So I'm going to go with Milton here and say "better to reign in hell (or even Hull) than serve in heaven."
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saintdavid54 added 20:12 - May 27 No thank you
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ItchenNorth added 20:13 - May 27 No thanks. I don't want our club to be the plaything of a billionaire. I want our identity to be something with more substance than that.
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Boris1977 added 21:40 - May 27 As they all said above. Football has died a slow multi billion cuts death over the last 20 years or so and as much as saints are a symptom of that by being a top division side for much of that time I'm not interested in being directly implicated via a transparently dodgy billionaire owner. Man city/PSG and their ilk are everything that is utterly detestable about the world in general and football club ownership in general. Sports Republic have got every big call wrong since they took over but they seem to be attempting to put in long term infrastructure now and it's a positive step again making a managerial appointment this early. The only sale I'd like to see is SR selling their other football interests and focusing solely on the Saints.

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Boris1977 added 21:42 - May 27 And Simon Jordan is the epitomy of a social media rolling news empty vessel talking head who fills the atmosphere with nonsense just to fill what would otherwise be peace and quiet.
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