Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah is set to purchase French club Chateauroux, as the the Blades supremo continues to expand the ‘United World’ project.
Abduallah has already invested in teams in Belgium, India, and the UAE, but is set to continue his expansion by purchasing the lowly French outfit.
Chateauroux are set to drop into the third division of French football. Much like Sheffield United, they’re enduring a miserable time of things on the field this season.
But while it’s open to debate what the deal will mean for United in the long-term, the report from the Daily Mail which breaks the news gives an interesting insight into the Blades’ owner’s worth.
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Prince Abdullah the billionaire? Far from it
There were a few misconceptions when the Prince got involved at Bramall Lane that he was himself a billionaire. Yes, he comes from a rich Saudi family, but on a personal level, he’s not at that level in terms of finance.
The Mail claims Prince Abdullah to have a personal fortune of around $240m (£173m). That sum, of course, is miles away from the billions of pounds some Premier League clubs sit on.
In fact, based on a report from the Examiner last year, it puts United at the bottom of the pile in terms of Premier League club riches.
United ranked fourth bottom in that report. But since then, Norwich and Watford have gone down, while Burnley have been taken over by the American company ALK Capital.
Of the promoted clubs, Fulham are owned by the wealthy Khan family, while Leeds United’s Andrea Radrizzani is worth around £450m, and West Brom are owned by billionaires. (Per Leeds Live)
It is little wonder, then, that United haven’t quite ploughed millions and millions into big wages and contracts since promotion.
Put simply, it appears the ownership simply don’t have the funds to be able to take those risks.
