From Manchester City to PSG: Five Major Football Clubs who have owners of Gulf Countries

The world of football has witnessed a major influx of money courtesy of the royal family and other billionaire investments from the financially rich Gulf countries.

Since the turn of the century, many businessmen in the middle-east nations have focused on investing in many European clubs, who have gone on to find massive success driven by the strong financial backing from their owners.

According to various reports, Premier League giants Manchester United are also on the verge of a change in ownership as Sheikh Jassim Al-Thani, the son of Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, is looking likely to own the Red Devils.

If the Qatari royals can acquire Man United, it will be a monumental coup in football’s history. But even without them, there are many Gulf owners already across the major leagues in Europe, who have stakes or full ownership of many clubs.

Here we take a look at five major European clubs who have owners from Gulf and Arab countries-

Malaga CF

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Thani, a member of the Qatari royal family bought the Spanish club Malaga in 2010. After the acquisition, Malaga saw a momentary upsurge which even took them to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

Despite the early upsurge, things went bleaker very fast and their fortunes took a massive downward turn. The Spanish club has declined since and currently plays in the second division of Spanish league.

Aston Villa

English Premier League club Aston Villa have Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris as the owner, who bought the club with Wes Edens. Sawiris and Edens have a net worth of close to 10 billion pounds and have already made some significant changes in the team.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United are owned by Saudi Prince Mohamed Bin Salman’s Public Investment Fund, which is the sovereign fund of Saudi Arabia crown. With a net worth of close to 500 billion pounds, they have the richest owners by far in football.

PSG

French giants Paris Saint Germain, popularly known as PSG, have Qatari owners Qatar Sports Investments who own the club since 2011.

Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, the emir of Qatar is also the owner of PSG and has made massive investments in the club already. After the acquisition, QSI chairman Nasser Al Khelaifi works as the president of the club.

???????? Nasser Al Khelaifi est présent à Casablanca. ???????? pic.twitter.com/JDqhytQGP1

— ???? MEGA PSG (@MegaPSG_) June 11, 2023

QSI is a subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), which is the sovereign wealth fund for the emir of Qatar.

Manchester City

Manchester City is by far the best European Club who have middle-east based owners. The current Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners are owned by Abu Dhabi United group, which is owned by Sheikh Mansour, the deputy Prime Minister of UAE.

Man City owner Sheikh Mansour hadn’t seen City play a competitive match since 2010 when they played Liverpool.

Yesterday, he watched them make history ???? pic.twitter.com/INj10Qys8x

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 11, 2023

With a massive input of money, City have gone on to establish themselves as one of the best football teams in England and in Europe. With a net worth of 17.2 billion pounds, Mansour has made radical changes at the club.

The City Football group, which was formed in 2013 as a holding company in England, owns several other football clubs in the world.

City Football Group-owned Football Clubs