Emirati billionaire may buy this football club for over $400 million

A number of billionaires from the Arab world have taken money out of their pockets and plugged them into international companies, and it seems football clubs are no different.

Emirati billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed al-Nahyan has reportedly agreed on a £350 million ($442 million) deal to buy Newcastle United, according to The Sun. Al-Nahyan was in talks with the English Club's current owner, Mike Ashley. The move has now been submitted to the Premier League. 

"We can confirm that representatives of His Highness Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan are in discussions with Mike Ashley and his team, about the proposed acquisition of Newcastle United Football Club," Bin Zayed Group wrote in an email statement to The Chronicle. 

"We have agreed terms and are working hard to complete the transaction at the earliest opportunity."

Newcastle, representatives of Ashley, and the Premier League have yet to confirm the deal.

The 61-year-old Abu Dhabi royal attempted to take over Liverpool last year, but failed. He had offered the football club £2 billion ($2.52 billion) - which would've been the most expensive takeover in football's history had it fallen through. 

The current deal awaits approval. Newcastle United was put up for sale by its owner two years ago, but has not landed a good-enough-deal yet. 

Al-Nahyan is the chairman of Bin Zayed Group, which set up shop in 1988. The Dubai-based conglomerate focuses on four key sectors including construction and energy, trading and industry, real estate, as well as technology and financial services. 

If the deal falls through, Al-Nahyan wouldn't be the only UAE royal to own a football club. His distant cousin Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al-Nahyan acquired Manchester City in 2008.

If the deal falls through, Al-Nahyan also wouldn't be the only Arab billionaire to have plugged money into a football club in recent years. In 2018, Egyptian Nassef Sawiris, along with American businessman Wes Edens, acquired a stake in Aston Villa, a Birmingham club which is now part of the Premier League.